Industry and geographic peer effects on corporate tax avoidance: Evidence from China

Quanxi Liang, Qiumei Li, Meiting Lu, Yaowen Shan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

43 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study examines industry and geographic peer effects on tax avoidance as well as their mechanisms and economic consequences in an emerging market, China. Using an instrumental variable approach and after considering a variety of robustness tests, we document causal evidence that a firm’s degree of tax avoidance is positively affected by the average degree of tax avoidance of its peer firms in the same industry or province. Further analyses show that both industry and geographic peer effects are driven by the motives of information learning and market competition and depend on the degree of local tax enforcement and executive tax expertise. We also document preliminary evidence that both industry and geographic peer effects benefit firms by improving their investments, dividend payouts, and future performance.
Original languageEnglish
Article number101545
Pages (from-to)1-25
Number of pages25
JournalPacific-Basin Finance Journal
Volume67
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2021

Keywords

  • Tax avoidance
  • peer effects
  • information learning
  • market competition

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