IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/hpe/journl/y2010v195i4p65-87.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Determining countries’ tax effort

Author

Listed:
  • Carola Pessino

    (Universidad de Torcuato Di Tella)

  • Ricardo Fenochietto

    (Fiscal Affairs Department, International Monetary Fund (IMF))

Abstract

This paper presents a model to determine the tax effort and tax capacity of 96 countries and the main variables from which they depend. The results and the model allow us to clearly determine which countries are near their tax capacity and which are some way from it, and therefore, could increase their tax revenue. Our study corroborates previous analysis inasmuch as the positive and significant relationship between tax revenue as percent of GDP and the level of development (per capita GDP), trade (imports and exports as percent of GDP) and education (public expenditure on education as percent of GDP). The study also demonstrates the negative relationship between tax revenue and inflation (CPI), income distribution (GINI coefficient), the ease of tax collection (agricultural sector value added as GDP percent), and corruption.

Suggested Citation

  • Carola Pessino & Ricardo Fenochietto, 2010. "Determining countries’ tax effort," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 195(4), pages 65-87, december.
    • Handle: RePEc:hpe:journl:y:2010:v:195:i:4:p:65-87
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.ief.es/comun/Descarga.cshtml?ruta=~/docs/destacados/publicaciones/revistas/hpe/195_Art3.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jean-Louis Combes & Tahsin Saadi-Sedik, 2006. "How does trade openness influence budget deficits in developing countries?," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(8), pages 1401-1416.
    2. Agbeyegbe, Terence D. & Stotsky, Janet & WoldeMariam, Asegedech, 2006. "Trade liberalization, exchange rate changes, and tax revenue in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 261-284, April.
    3. Leuthold, Jane H., 1991. "Tax shares in developing economies A panel study," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 173-185, January.
    4. Jondrow, James & Knox Lovell, C. A. & Materov, Ivan S. & Schmidt, Peter, 1982. "On the estimation of technical inefficiency in the stochastic frontier production function model," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 19(2-3), pages 233-238, August.
    5. Mr. David A. Grigorian & Mr. Hamid R Davoodi, 2007. "Tax Potential vs. Tax Effort: A Cross-Country Analysis of Armenia's Stubbornly Low Tax Collection," IMF Working Papers 2007/106, International Monetary Fund.
    6. Hung-jen Wang & Peter Schmidt, 2002. "One-Step and Two-Step Estimation of the Effects of Exogenous Variables on Technical Efficiency Levels," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 129-144, September.
    7. Coelli, T. J., 1992. "A computer program for frontier production function estimation : Frontier version 2.0," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 29-32, May.
    8. Stevenson, Rodney E., 1980. "Likelihood functions for generalized stochastic frontier estimation," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 57-66, May.
    9. Pitt, Mark M. & Lee, Lung-Fei, 1981. "The measurement and sources of technical inefficiency in the Indonesian weaving industry," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 43-64, August.
    10. Greene, William H., 1990. "A Gamma-distributed stochastic frontier model," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1-2), pages 141-163.
    11. Tanzi, Vito & Zee, Howell H., 2000. "Tax Policy for Emerging Markets: Developing Countries," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 53(2), pages 299-322, June.
    12. Salinas-Jimenez, M del Mar & Salinas-Jimenez, Javier, 2007. "Corruption, efficiency and productivity in OECD countries," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 29(6), pages 903-915.
    13. Timothy J. Coelli & D.S. Prasada Rao & Christopher J. O’Donnell & George E. Battese, 2005. "An Introduction to Efficiency and Productivity Analysis," Springer Books, Springer, edition 0, number 978-0-387-25895-9, September.
    14. Caudill, Steven B & Ford, Jon M & Gropper, Daniel M, 1995. "Frontier Estimation and Firm-Specific Inefficiency Measures in the Presence of Heteroscedasticity," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 13(1), pages 105-111, January.
    15. Ms. Janet Gale Stotsky & Ms. Asegedech WoldeMariam, 1997. "Tax Effort in Sub-Saharan Africa," IMF Working Papers 1997/107, International Monetary Fund.
    16. Battese, George E., 1992. "Frontier production functions and technical efficiency: a survey of empirical applications in agricultural economics," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 7(3-4), pages 185-208, October.
    17. Mr. Vito Tanzi & Mr. Hamid R Davoodi, 1997. "Corruption, Public Investment, and Growth," IMF Working Papers 1997/139, International Monetary Fund.
    18. Aigner, Dennis & Lovell, C. A. Knox & Schmidt, Peter, 1977. "Formulation and estimation of stochastic frontier production function models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 21-37, July.
    19. Abhijit Sen Gupta, 2007. "Determinants of Tax Revenue Efforts in Developing Countries," IMF Working Papers 2007/184, International Monetary Fund.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mr. Marco Committeri & Ms. Carola Pessino, 2013. "Understanding Countries’ Tax Effort," IMF Working Papers 2013/244, International Monetary Fund.
    2. Ali M. Oumer & Amin Mugera & Michael Burton & Atakelty Hailu, 2022. "Technical efficiency and firm heterogeneity in stochastic frontier models: application to smallholder maize farms in Ethiopia," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 213-241, April.
    3. Tim J. Coelli, 1995. "Recent Developments In Frontier Modelling And Efficiency Measurement," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 39(3), pages 219-245, December.
    4. Reddy, Mahendra, 2002. "Implication of Tenancy Status on Productivity and Efficiency: Evidence from Fiji," Sri Lankan Journal of Agricultural Economics, Sri Lanka Agricultural Economics Association (SAEA), vol. 4, pages 1-20.
    5. Mr. David A. Grigorian & Mr. Hamid R Davoodi, 2007. "Tax Potential vs. Tax Effort: A Cross-Country Analysis of Armenia's Stubbornly Low Tax Collection," IMF Working Papers 2007/106, International Monetary Fund.
    6. Federico Belotti & Silvio Daidone & Giuseppe Ilardi & Vincenzo Atella, 2013. "Stochastic frontier analysis using Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 13(4), pages 718-758, December.
    7. Kodjo Adandohoin, 2021. "Tax transition in developing countries: do value added tax and excises really work?," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 379-424, May.
    8. Orea, Luis, 2019. "The Econometric Measurement of Firms’ Efficiency," Efficiency Series Papers 2019/02, University of Oviedo, Department of Economics, Oviedo Efficiency Group (OEG).
    9. repec:kap:iaecre:v:14:y:2008:i:1:p:76-89 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Afanasiev, Mikhail, 2007. "A Stochastic Frontier Model of a Scientist’s Production Potential," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 6(2), pages 36-59.
    11. Bao Hoang Nguyen & Robin C. Sickles & Valentin Zelenyuk, 2021. "What do we know from the vast literature on efficiency and productivity in healthcare? A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis," CEPA Working Papers Series WP092021, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.
    12. Afanasiev, Mikhail, 2006. "A Model of the Production Potential with Managed Factors of Inefficiency," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 4(4), pages 74-89.
    13. Bao Hoang Nguyen & Robin C. Sickles & Valentin Zelenyuk, 2022. "Efficiency Analysis with Stochastic Frontier Models Using Popular Statistical Softwares," Springer Books, in: Duangkamon Chotikapanich & Alicia N. Rambaldi & Nicholas Rohde (ed.), Advances in Economic Measurement, chapter 0, pages 129-171, Springer.
    14. Zangin Zeebari & Kristofer Månsson & Pär Sjölander & Magnus Söderberg, 2023. "Regularized conditional estimators of unit inefficiency in stochastic frontier analysis, with application to electricity distribution market," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 79-97, February.
    15. Greene, William, 2005. "Reconsidering heterogeneity in panel data estimators of the stochastic frontier model," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 126(2), pages 269-303, June.
    16. Md Abdur Rouf, 2020. "Evaluation of Agricultural Projects by Parametric Cost Efficiency and Productivity-gap Approaches: An Empirical Study of Flood Control and Drainage Systems in the Southwest Coastal Area of Bangladesh," Japanese Journal of Agricultural Economics (formerly Japanese Journal of Rural Economics), Agricultural Economics Society of Japan (AESJ), vol. 22.
    17. Tiziana Laureti, 2008. "Modelling Exogenous Variables in Human Capital Formation through a Heteroscedastic Stochastic Frontier," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 14(1), pages 76-89, February.
    18. Siongofolo Seydou Soro, 2020. "Institutional Quality and Tax Revenue in C te d Ivoire: Evidence from ARDL Approach," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 10(6), pages 40-49.
    19. Mr. Paulo Drummond & Mr. Wendell Daal & Mr. Nandini Srivastava & Mr. Luiz E Oliveira, 2012. "Mobilizing Revenue in Sub-Saharan Africa: Empirical Norms and Key Determinants," IMF Working Papers 2012/108, International Monetary Fund.
    20. Compaoré, Ali, 2022. "Access-for-all to financial services: Non-resources tax revenue-harnessing opportunities in developing countries," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 236-245.
    21. Markose Chekol Zewdie & Michele Moretti & Daregot Berihun Tenessa & Zemen Ayalew Ayele & Jan Nyssen & Enyew Adgo Tsegaye & Amare Sewnet Minale & Steven Van Passel, 2021. "Agricultural Technical Efficiency of Smallholder Farmers in Ethiopia: A Stochastic Frontier Approach," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-17, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    tax effort; tax frontier; tax capacity; tax revenue; stochastic tax frontier; inefficiency.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • C51 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Construction and Estimation
    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hpe:journl:y:2010:v:195:i:4:p:65-87. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Miguel Gómez de Antonio (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iefgves.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.