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Do tax administration reforms improve tax revenue performance in Togo? Empirical insights from experimental approaches

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  • Nimonka Bayale
  • Pouwemdéou Tchila
  • Jacques‐Patrick Arnold Yao
  • Honoré Tenakoua

Abstract

Tax administration reforms are often motivated by their potential to improve tax revenue mobilisation. However, their actual impacts are difficult to quantify. Using cross‐country panel data over the period 1990–2018, this paper analyses the impact of the 2012 tax administration reform on tax revenue performance in Togo. The estimation procedures that we follow are the synthetic control method (SCM) and the propensity score matching (PSM). After comparing the observed evolution of Togo's tax revenue output in the period 2013–2018 with that of synthetic Togo, our estimates show an accumulated gain in the tax‐to‐GDP ratio of a yearly average of about 2.8%. The results pass a battery of checks. Hence, the paper concludes that after almost 9 years of reform, the improvement in Togo's tax performance is remarkable. However, more tax‐related and institution‐related reforms are crucial to make Togo's tax system more buoyant and sustainably improved tax revenue mobilisation.

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  • Nimonka Bayale & Pouwemdéou Tchila & Jacques‐Patrick Arnold Yao & Honoré Tenakoua, 2022. "Do tax administration reforms improve tax revenue performance in Togo? Empirical insights from experimental approaches," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 90(2), pages 196-213, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:sajeco:v:90:y:2022:i:2:p:196-213
    DOI: 10.1111/saje.12316
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    Cited by:

    1. Milly Chepkorir Chebochok & Nimonka Bayale, 2023. "Effects of financial inclusion on tax revenue mobilization: Evidence from WAEMU countries," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 35(2), pages 226-238, June.
    2. Vigninou Gammadigbe, 2025. "Tax Transition Impact on Fiscal Balance in WAEMU Countries: A Difference‐in‐Difference Approach," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 37(4), December.
    3. Nimonka Bayale & Abdou‐Fataou Tchagnao & Madow Nagou & Pouwemdéou Tchila, 2023. "Beneficial impact of tax reforms on tax revenue performances in Togo: Myth or reality?," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(4), pages 1323-1343, October.
    4. Md. Mominur Rahman & Mohammad Ekramol Islam, 2026. "Does Trade Openness Affect Taxation? Evidence from BRICS Countries," Millennial Asia, , vol. 17(1), pages 48-76, March.

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