A schema-theoretic approach to politicians' definitions of tax issues

This paper investigates how politicians define the level of the tax burden in their jurisdiction in terms of a scale from low to high. This definition is driven by evaluative components in politicians' tax burden schema. Thes e components are, in part, affective and, in part, a confrontation of affec t and cognition. Assuming that politicians have an objective function in wh ich electoral and ideological objectives exist along with the maximisation of self-esteem, we present an empirical model of politicians' definitions. The model is tested, using ordered probit analysis, on a sample of survey r esponses of 682 Flemish politicians who were active at the local (municipal ) level. The results indicate that all aspects of the politicians' schema a re represented by significant variables. In addition to the measured tax bu rden, there are significant roles for the ideological position of the elect orate, the proportion of taxes that can be exported, the income of the popu lation and the tax burden in neighbouring municipalities together with the ideological position of the politician and whether (s)he has been directly involved in creating the burden. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PsycINFO classification: 2260; 2340; 2960.