On Tax Efforts and Colonial Heritage in Africa

Mkandawire, Thandika

doi:10.1080/00220388.2010.500660

Cited by 111 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…When these countries were colonized, institutions introduced by the new rulers were not likely to be growth-inducing either, since colonizers did rarely consider these countries for permanent settlement. As a result, these countries would historically tend to have lower levels of development, and, hence, a lower tax ratio (although this itself may depend on the nature of the colonial experience, as shown by Mkandawire 2010). Hence, by just running OLS on (5) we will likely find rainfall negatively affecting tax revenue.…”

Section: Identifying Effects Of External Shocks On Tax Revenuementioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the tax systems' risk and efficiency in Russian regions at different levels of the budget system

Малкина¹,

Balakin²

2017

RETP

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− For the whole sample of lower-income countries, ER pressure has a significant negative effect on trade and income tax. In contrast, its effect is negative yet not significant on indirect taxes (goods and services tax), and practically zero on non-tax revenue. The effect is particularly strong and significant in non-democratic as well as in non-resource-rich countries. Apparently, these groups experience more difficulties in counteracting the impact of ER pressure shocks. − Terms-of-trade shocks have significant negative effects on non-tax revenue. The reason is perhaps that these shocks are likely to reduce profits of public enterprises that act as commodity exporters. The effect is negative and significant for all sub-groups except democracies, but stronger for non-resource-rich compared to resource-rich countries. Terms-of-trade shocks also affect income tax revenue in non-democratic and non-resource-rich countries. − Natural disaster intensity affects mostly trade and income taxes, although the coefficient is not significant in any specification.All in all it can be inferred that non-democratic and non-resource-rich countries are particularly vulnerable to shocks affecting income taxes and non-tax revenue. In the case of resource-rich countries, no clear patterns emerge: their revenue structure, though more volatile than that of non-resource-rich countries due to a higher dependence on non-tax revenue, could be less vulnerable to external shocks. At least, there is no robust evidence pointing to volatility of revenue from natural resources being directly connected to increased vulnerability vis-à-vis shocks analysed in this report. This finding Study on the vulnerability and resilience factors of tax revenues in developing countriesFinal Report AETS Consortium -November 2013 4is somewhat unexpected, as conventional wisdom and the literature on rent incomes from (principally) oil would suggest resource-rich economies to be particularly vulnerable to global price and capital shocks. From the present study we get the impression that it is much more the non-resource-rich countries we should be worried about.The findings indicate that vulnerability to shocks should not be regarded exclusively as an issue of major adverse events hitting an economy. It may be important for governments, donors and international organisations to prepare for such events and to develop the appropriate financial tools to deal with them. But it is also important to keep in mind that minor events also have significant effects on revenue and that long-term structural reforms (in particular regarding income tax and non-tax revenue) are a necessary ingredient of any strategy targeting vulnerability of revenue in developing countries. In this context, a broad tax portfolio could contribute to making total revenue less susceptible to individual shocks. Further, the better performance of democracies suggests that reforms pointing to accountability, transparency and rule of law could have an important positive effect on revenue resilience, as g...

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Section: Identifying Effects Of External Shocks On Tax Revenuementioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the tax systems' risk and efficiency in Russian regions at different levels of the budget system

Малкина¹,

Balakin²

2017

RETP

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“…(Gupta and Tareq 2008). Analyses of tax effort, rather than of the tax ratio, have even found that Benin overperforms slightly, collecting more than what would be expected given the size and structure of its economy (Gupta 2007;Mkandawire 2010). improvements in daily life (Gazibo 2005: 80).…”

Section: Democracy Taxation and Aid Dependency In Sub-saharan Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The tax systems of most sub-Saharan African states were first established under colonialism (Fjeldstad, Therkildsen, Rakner and Semboja 2000;Mkandawire 2010), and it has been argued that the mode of economic exploitation in African colonies has had a substantial effect on the extractive capacities of today's African states (Mkandawire 2010). Labor reserve economies, characterized by a relatively large population of white settlers and by white-owned mining industries and plantation agriculture, allowed for the emergence of relatively strong states with high extractive capacities (Mkandawire 2010(Mkandawire : 1651. On the other hand, former cash-crop economies, a category that encompasses most of the former French and British colonies of West Africa, experience more difficulties in collecting taxes today.…”

Section: Democracy Taxation and Aid Dependency In Sub-saharan Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In these latter countries, production during the colonial period was left to peasants and marketing was dominated by metropolitan mercantile houses or by state marketing boards. Taxation took place largely through the marketing channels and poll taxes (Mkandawire 2010(Mkandawire : 1649. Former cash-crop economies generally exhibit a lower level of industrialization and a higher level of informalization of the economy with respect to former labor reserves.…”

Section: Democracy Taxation and Aid Dependency In Sub-saharan Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Democratic Rentier State? Taxation, Aid Dependency, and Political Representation in Benin

Piccolino

2014

SSRN Journal

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• This is a GIGA Working Paper. The GIGA Working Papers series serves to disseminate the research results of work in progress prior to publication in order to encourage the exchange of ideas and academic debate. An www.giga-hamburg.de/workingpapers GIGA Working Papers serve to disseminate the research results of work in progress prior to publicaton to encourage the exchange of ideas and academic debate. Inclusion of a paper in the Working Papers series does not constitute publication and should not limit publication in any other venue. Copyright remains with the authors. GIGA Research Unit: Institute of African Affairs

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“…As in the case of Europe, increasing fiscal capacity has been linked in Africa to improvements in governance and institutions (Baskaran and Bigsten 2013;Brautigam et al 2008). This hypothesis has motivated several studies of the historical development of fiscal capacity amongst African countries (Frankema 2010;Gardner 2010Gardner , 2012Mkandawire 2010). …”

Section: Applying the Experience Of Europe To Africa Is Nothing New mentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic Development in Africa and Europe: Reciprocal Comparisons

Broadberry¹,

Gardner

2015

RHE / JILAEH

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Recent advances in historical national accounting have allowed for global comparisons of GDP per capita across space and time. Critics have argued that GDP per capita fails to capture adequately the multi-dimensional nature of welfare, and have developed alternative measures such as the human development index. Whilst recognising that these wider indicators provide an appropriate way of assessing levels of welfare, we argue that GDP per capita remains a more appropriate measure for assessing development potential, focussing on production possibilities and the sustainability of consumption. Twentieth-century Africa and pre-industrial Europe are used to show how such data can guide reciprocal comparisons to provide insights into the process of development on both continents.

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On Tax Efforts and Colonial Heritage in Africa

Cited by 111 publications

References 59 publications

Assessing the tax systems' risk and efficiency in Russian regions at different levels of the budget system

Assessing the tax systems' risk and efficiency in Russian regions at different levels of the budget system

A Democratic Rentier State? Taxation, Aid Dependency, and Political Representation in Benin

Economic Development in Africa and Europe: Reciprocal Comparisons

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