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What are the drivers of tax capacity in sub-Saharan Africa?

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  • Abrams M.E. Tagem
  • Oliver Morrissey

Abstract

There is limited research on the underlying institutional framework of tax policy and capacity: how tax collection efficiency changes over time and the importance of institutional factors in this process. This paper fills this gap by devising a measure of tax capacity distinct from commonly used measures of tax effort based on residuals from a tax performance (tax/gross domestic product ratio) regression. The paper uses annual data on 44 sub-Saharan African countries covering the period from 1980 to 2018.

Suggested Citation

  • Abrams M.E. Tagem & Oliver Morrissey, 2021. "What are the drivers of tax capacity in sub-Saharan Africa?," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-161, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2021-161
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fiscal capacity; General-to-specific; Tax policy; Institutional performance; Institutions;
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