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Tax Innovations and Public Revenues in Sub-Saharan Africa

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  • Pelle Ahlerup
  • Thushyanthan Baskaran
  • Arne Bigsten

Abstract

We study the effect of two tax innovations - value added taxes (VAT) and autonomous revenue authorities (ARA) - on tax revenues in sub-Saharan Africa. The dataset consists of 47 countries over 1980-2010. We find that VATs have no effect on total tax revenues, neither in the short- nor in the long-run. ARAs lead to higher tax revenues in the short- and medium-run, but the effect dissipates over time. The main conclusion is that tax innovations are not a panacea to overcome the revenue shortages in African countries, but they are helpful in the short- and medium-run.

Suggested Citation

  • Pelle Ahlerup & Thushyanthan Baskaran & Arne Bigsten, 2015. "Tax Innovations and Public Revenues in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(6), pages 689-706, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:51:y:2015:i:6:p:689-706
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2014.997223
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    Cited by:

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