Understanding the determinants of preferences for redistribution

As part of my thesis I want to explore the determinants of preferences for redistribution.

In a first step, I would like to investigate the link between trust in government and tax acceptance. In particular, I would like to focus on taxes on personal income and wealth. Tax acceptance (i.e., whether or not individuals find it acceptable to have to pay taxes) is a phenomenon we ought to understand, as taxes perceived as unjust can lead to an unefficient taxation system; individuals can evade taxes, or take to the streets (as demonstrated recently by the gilets jaunes movement in France, but also for example by the Tea Party protest). I want to identify the role that trust in government plays in the way taxes are perceived; is it enough to have well-functioning, non-corrupted institutions for people to agree with paying taxes? Is the alignment of political preferences with the government an important factor, or does transparency play a more crucial role?

After having investigated the link between the trust agents have in their institutions and their willingness to pay taxes, I would like to focus on what is often considered a preferable alternative to those institutions: charities. Charities present the advantage of allowing their donators to choose where their money goes: whether it is education, culture, or poverty relief. I would like to explore two main subquestions: whether individuals who are reluctant to pay taxes because they do not trust the government are more likely to give to charities instead; and whether charities are more efficient at their mission than the government (that is, for a specific mission, does a euro spent by a charity have more impact than one spent by the government).