Patriotism, Taxation and International Mobility

43 Pages Posted: 21 Apr 2009

See all articles by Salmai Qari

Salmai Qari

Berlin Centre for Empirical Economics (BCEE); German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin); Berlin School of Economics and Law

Kai A. Konrad

Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute for Economic Research); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Benny Geys

Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)

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Abstract

For patriotic citizens, living in their native country is intrinsically preferable compared to living in the diaspora. In this paper, we analyze the implications of such a patriotic lock-in in a world with international migration and redistributive taxation. In a formal model of redistribution with international migration and fiscal competition we derive the main hypothesis: that countries with a more patriotic population should have higher redistributive taxes. Using ISSP survey data and combining them with OECD taxation data, we find robust evidence suggesting that a) higher patriotism is associated with higher tax burdens, and b) this relation is stronger for the upper-middle range of the income distribution.

Keywords: patriotism, international mobility, taxation, redistribution, fiscal competition

JEL Classification: H20, H73

Suggested Citation

Qari, Salmai and Konrad, Kai A. and Geys, Benny, Patriotism, Taxation and International Mobility. IZA Discussion Paper No. 4120, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1391792 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1391792

Salmai Qari (Contact Author)

Berlin Centre for Empirical Economics (BCEE) ( email )

Berlin
Germany

German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) ( email )

Mohrenstraße 58
Berlin, 10117
Germany

Berlin School of Economics and Law ( email )

Badensche Strasse 50-51
Berlin, D-10825
Germany

Kai A. Konrad

Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance ( email )

Marstallplatz 1
Munich, 80539
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.tax.mpg.de/en/pub/home.cfm

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

90-98 Goswell Road
London, EC1V 7RR
United Kingdom

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute for Economic Research)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, 81679
Germany

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, 53072
Germany

Benny Geys

Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) ( email )

Pleinlaan 2
http://www.vub.ac.be/
Brussels, 1050
Belgium

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