Work

How Do Wars Make States? Institutional Trust and Attitudes Toward Tax Compliance in Wartime Ukraine

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This article draws on a series of cross-sectional surveys carried out in Ukraine in 2020, 2022 and 2023 to probe the impact of the Russian invasion of February 2022 on institutional trust – citizen trust in the state – and attitudes toward taxation. Using a difference-in-differences approach for identification, we find that the experience of war spurred institutional trust, but that attitudes and behavioral dispositions related to the tax regime shifted less noticeably. We also find lower levels of both institutional trust and willingness to pay taxes among populations most acutely affected by conflict.

Source: Problems of Post-Communism

DOI: 10.1080/10758216.2026.2742424

Authors: Marc P. Berenson, Sarah Birch

Institution: King's College London

Language: English

Topic: Taxation and Compliance Studies

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: Open Society Foundations, Impact Fund, King's College London, Economic and Social Research Council