Is tax evasion macho? Testosterone, personality traits and evasion

Abstract

This paper examines the potential effects of testosterone and personality traits on the decision to evade taxes. In a series of experiments, subjects completed behavioural tasks and made a one-shot tax evasion decision. We estimate a negative weakly significant treatment effect, which suggests that an exogenous increase in the testosterone level may inhibit the decision to evade taxes. Our results also suggest that higher dominance and independent self-construal, as well as lower self-control, are associated with a greater likelihood of tax evasion. We discuss the mechanisms potentially linking testosterone to tax evasion. These findings support the inclusion of biological factors in the analysis of tax evasion behaviour.