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Collect more, spend better? Assessing the incidence of fiscal systems and public spending in three Francophone West African countries

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  • Al-Mouksit Akim
  • Mahdi Ben Jelloul
  • Leo Czajka
  • Anne-Sophie Robilliard

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyse and compare the incidence of fiscal systems of 3 western African countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Senegal. The analysis relies on different data and tools: (1) individual and household level data from 3 recent household surveys (EMOP 2011, ESPS 2011, ENV 2014), (2) a detailed description of the 3 fiscal systems, (4) the CEQ conceptual framework, and (4) the Openfisca platform an open source tax-benefit calculator parameterized to simulate the fiscal systems of each country. Results indicate that fiscal systems in Mali, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire have a slightly progressive impact on inequality. This stems from the combination of slightly progressive direct taxes, regressive indirect taxes, and progressive public spending on education. Various features are likely to explain these results: (1) Direct taxes are paid by a very small fraction of the population; (2) Indirect taxes such as VAT and import tariffs affect poorest households more.

Suggested Citation

  • Al-Mouksit Akim & Mahdi Ben Jelloul & Leo Czajka & Anne-Sophie Robilliard, 2021. "Collect more, spend better? Assessing the incidence of fiscal systems and public spending in three Francophone West African countries," Working Papers 2, Africa Institute for Research in Economics and Social Sciences.
  • Handle: RePEc:aof:wpaper:wp-0002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fiscal incidence; Inequality; West Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H22 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Incidence
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development

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