A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Does income transparency affect support for redistribution? Evidence from Finland’s tax day




AuthorsDunaiski, Maurice; Tukiainen, Janne

PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press

Publication year2024

Journal: Journal of Politics

Journal name in sourceThe Journal of Politics

ISSN0022-3816

eISSN1468-2508

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/732955

Publication's open availability at the time of reportingNo Open Access

Publication channel's open availability Delayed Open Access publication channel (the publications become open after an embargo period)

Web address https://doi.org/10.1086/732955

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/477861768


Abstract

This paper examines whether income transparency - the public release of citizens’ income information - affects support for redistribution. We leverage a quasi-experiment in Finland, where every year on the so-called tax day, the authorities release income information on Finland’s top earners to the public. To identify causal effects we compare respondents who took part in the European Social Survey shortly before and after the event. We find that the tax day increases perceptions that earnings of the top 10% are unfair, but that public support for redistribution remains largely unaffected. A notable exception are top earners, who decrease their support for redistribution, and young people, who increase their support for redistribution. Our results highlight the scope conditions of previous experimental studies, and suggest that increasing exposure to inequality through a real-world policy, rather than experimental treatments, may trigger only marginal changes in support for redistribution.


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Last updated on 19/09/2025 08:22:47 AM