IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ays/ispwps/paper1307.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Foreign Advice and Tax Policy in Developing Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Richard M. Bird

    (University of Toronto)

Abstract

Fifty years of experience tells us that the right game for tax researchers and outside agencies interested in fostering better sustainable tax systems in developing countries researchers is not the short-term political game in which policy decisions are made. The right game for them is instead the long-term one of building up the institutional capacity both within and outside governments to articulate relevant ideas for change, to collect and analyze relevant data, and of course to assess and criticize the effects of such changes as are made. Tax researchers in developing countries can and should play an active role in all these activities. To do so, however, they often need considerably more and more sustained support from academic institutions abroad as well as from international agencies than is now available. Such long-term ‘institution-building’ activities are seldom immediately rewarding. They appear at present to be out of fashion with international agencies concerned with development, where most efforts at present seem to focus on designing and implementing ever more rigorous ‘benchmarking’ schemes. Nonetheless, the long-term institution-building approach seems still to provide the most useful way in which foreigners may perhaps be able to assist in the formidable and on-going task of achieving more efficient, equitable, effective, and sustainable tax systems in developing countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard M. Bird, 2013. "Foreign Advice and Tax Policy in Developing Countries," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper1307, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
  • Handle: RePEc:ays:ispwps:paper1307
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://icepp.gsu.edu/files/2015/03/ispwp1307.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peter Diamond & Emmanuel Saez, 2011. "The Case for a Progressive Tax: From Basic Research to Policy Recommendations," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(4), pages 165-190, Fall.
    2. Slemrod, Joel & Yitzhaki, Shlomo, 2001. "Integrating Expenditure and Tax Decisions: The Marginal Cost of Funds and the Marginal Benefit of Projects," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 54(2), pages 189-202, June.
    3. Bird, Richard M. & Zolt, Eric M., 2011. "Dual Income Taxation: A Promising Path to Tax Reform for Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 1691-1703.
    4. Bird,Richard & Gendron,Pierre-Pascal, 2011. "The VAT in Developing and Transitional Countries," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107401440, October.
    5. Martinez-Vazquez, Jorge & McNab, Robert M., 2000. "The Tax Reform Experiment in Transitional Countries," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 53(2), pages 273-298, June.
    6. N. Gregory Mankiw & Matthew Weinzierl & Danny Yagan, 2009. "Optimal Taxation in Theory and Practice," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 23(4), pages 147-174, Fall.
    7. Markus Leibrecht & Claudia Hochgatterer, 2012. "Tax Competition As A Cause Of Falling Corporate Income Tax Rates: A Survey Of Empirical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 616-648, September.
    8. George R. Zodrow, 2019. "The Property Tax as a Capital Tax: A Room with Three Views," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: George R Zodrow (ed.), TAXATION IN THEORY AND PRACTICE Selected Essays of George R. Zodrow, chapter 15, pages 461-487, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    9. Moreno-Dodson, Blanca & Wodon, Quentin, 2008. "Public Finance for Poverty Reduction: An Overview," MPRA Paper 11078, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Linda Babcock & George Loewenstein, 1997. "Explaining Bargaining Impasse: The Role of Self-Serving Biases," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(1), pages 109-126, Winter.
    11. repec:idq:ictduk:12795 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Alvin Rabushka, 2008. "Introduction to Taxation in Colonial America," Introductory Chapters, in: Taxation in Colonial America, Princeton University Press.
    13. Stanley L. Engerman & Kenneth L. Sokoloff, 2011. "Introduction to "Economic Development in the Americas since 1500: Endowments and Institutions"," NBER Chapters, in: Economic Development in the Americas since 1500: Endowments and Institutions, pages 1-8, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. McCleary, William, 1991. "The Earmarking of Government Revenue: A Review of Some World Bank Experience," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 6(1), pages 81-104, January.
    15. Felix Bierbrauer, 2012. "On the Incidence of a Financial Transactions Tax in a Model with Fire Sales," CESifo Working Paper Series 3870, CESifo.
    16. Engel, Eduardo M. R. A. & Galetovic, Alexander & Raddatz, Claudio E., 1999. "Taxes and income distribution in Chile: some unpleasant redistributive arithmetic," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 155-192, June.
    17. Lora, Eduardo & Cárdenas Santa-María, Mauricio, 2007. "La reforma de las instituciones fiscales en América Latina," Libros y Documentos Institucionales, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 2822.
    18. James Alm & Hugo López Castaño, 2002. "Payroll taxes in Colombia," Informes de Investigación 3316, Fedesarrollo.
    19. Zodrow, George R., 2001. "The Property Tax as a Capital Tax: A Room with Three Views," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 54(n. 1), pages 139-56, March.
    20. Jha, Prabhat & Chaloupka, Frank (ed.), 2000. "Tobacco Control in Developing Countries," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192632463.
    21. Gordon, Roger & Li, Wei, 2009. "Tax structures in developing countries: Many puzzles and a possible explanation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(7-8), pages 855-866, August.
    22. Liu, Lili & Webb, Steven B., 2011. "Laws for fiscal responsibility for subnational discipline : international experience," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5587, The World Bank.
    23. Charles E. McLure, Jr. & George R. Zodrow, 2007. "Consumption-based Direct Taxes: A Guided Tour of the Amusement Park," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 63(2), pages 285-307, June.
    24. Naomi E. Feldman & Bradley J. Ruffle, 2012. "The Impact Of Tax Exclusive And Inclusive Prices On Demand," Working Papers 1207, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Department of Economics.
    25. repec:idq:ictduk:2220 is not listed on IDEAS
    26. Bruno S. Frey & Lasse Steiner, 2012. "Political Economy: Success or Failure?," Contemporary Economics, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw., vol. 6(3), September.
    27. Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & Violeta Vulovic & Yongzheng Liu, 2011. "Direct versus Indirect Taxation: Trends, Theory, and Economic Significance," Chapters, in: Emilio Albi & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez (ed.), The Elgar Guide to Tax Systems, chapter 2, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    28. Gillis, Malcolm, 1985. "Micro and macroeconomics of tax reform : Indonesia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 221-254, December.
    29. Emilio Albi & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez (ed.), 2011. "The Elgar Guide to Tax Systems," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14436.
    30. Martinez-Vazquez, Jorge & McNab, Robert M., 2000. "The Tax Reform Experiment in Transitional Countries," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 53(n. 2), pages 273-98, June.
    31. David De Ferranti & Guillermo E. Perry & Francisco H.G. Ferreira & Michael Walton, 2004. "Inequality in Latin America : Breaking with History?," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 15009.
    32. Don Fullerton, 1996. "Why Have Separate Environmental Taxes?," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 10, pages 33-70, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    33. Arnold C. Harberger, 1968. "A Landmark in the Annals of Taxation," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 1(s1), pages 183-194, February.
    34. Richard M. Bird, 2012. "Fiscal Decentralization in Colombia: A Work (Still) in Progress," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper1223, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    35. Felix Bierbrauer, 2012. "On the incidence of a financial transactions tax in a model with fire sales," Working Paper Series in Economics 55, University of Cologne, Department of Economics.
    36. Feldstein, Martin, 1995. "The Effect of Marginal Tax Rates on Taxable Income: A Panel Study of the 1986 Tax Reform Act," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(3), pages 551-572, June.
    37. Raja J. Chelliah, 1971. "Trends in Taxation in Developing Countries (Les tendances de la fiscalité dans les pays en voie de développement) (Tendencias tributarias en los países en desarrollo)," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(2), pages 254-331, July.
    38. Paul Collier & Anke Hoeffler, 2005. "Resource Rents, Governance, and Conflict," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 49(4), pages 625-633, August.
    39. Richard M. Bird, 2012. "Taxation and Development: What Have We Learned from Fifty Years of Research?," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper1202, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    40. Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & Robert McNab, 2000. "Tax Reform in The Tax Reform Experiment in Transitional Countries," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0001, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    41. Fischel, William A., 2001. "Homevoters, Municipal Corporate Governance, and the Benefit View of the Property Tax," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 54(1), pages 157-174, March.
    42. Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & Richard M. Bird, 2011. "Value-Added Tax: Onward and Upward?," Chapters, in: Emilio Albi & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez (ed.), The Elgar Guide to Tax Systems, chapter 6, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    43. Bird, Richard M. & Zolt, Eric M., 2005. "The limited role of the personal income tax in developing countries," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 928-946, December.
    44. Bahl, Roy W. & Bird, Richard M., 2008. "Tax Policy in Developing Countries: Looking Back—and Forward," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 61(2), pages 279-301, June.
    45. Michael Keen, 2014. "Targeting, cascading and indirect tax design," Indian Growth and Development Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 7(2), pages 181-201, November.
    46. Jaime Vázquez-Caro & Richard M. Bird, 2011. "Benchmarking Tax Administrations in Developing Countries: A Systemic Approach," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper1104, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    47. Baunsgaard, Thomas & Keen, Michael, 2010. "Tax revenue and (or?) trade liberalization," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(9-10), pages 563-577, October.
    48. Richard M. Bird & Eric M. Zolt, 2014. "Taxation and inequality in the Americas: Changing the fiscal contract?," Chapters, in: Richard M. Bird & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez (ed.), Taxation and Development: The Weakest Link?, chapter 7, pages 193-237, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    49. Ivanyna, Maksym & von Haldenwang, Christian, 2012. "A comparative view on the tax performance of developing countries: Regional patterns, non-tax revenue and governance," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 6, pages 1-44.
    50. Richard M. Bird & James M. Poterba & Joel Slemrod (ed.), 2005. "Fiscal Reform in Colombia: Problems and Prospects," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 026202585x, April.
    51. Richard M. Bird & Eric M. Zolt, 2005. "Redistribution via Taxation: The Limited Role of the Personal Income Tax in Developing Countries (2005)," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0507, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    52. Breton,Albert, 1998. "Competitive Governments," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521646284, September.
    53. Chun-Yan Kuo & Hatice Jenkins & Glenn Jenkins, 2006. "Is The Value Added Tax Naturally Progressive?," Working Paper 1059, Economics Department, Queen's University.
    54. Stanley L. Engerman & Kenneth L. Sokoloff, 2011. "Economic Development in the Americas since 1500: Endowments and Institutions," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number enge11-1.
    55. Feldstein, Martin, 1995. "The Effect of Marginal Tax Rates on Taxable Income: A Panel Study of the 1986 Tax Reform Act," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(3), pages 551-572, June.
    56. Lawrence Kenny & Stanley Winer, 2006. "Tax Systems in the World: An Empirical Investigation into the Importance of Tax Bases, Administration Costs, Scale and Political Regime," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 13(2), pages 181-215, May.
    57. Pierre Salmon, 2012. "Decentralization and growth:has the cross-country approach met a dead end?," Working Papers CREGO 1120604, Université de Bourgogne - CREGO EA7317 Centre de recherches en gestion des organisations.
    58. Cárdenas Santa-María, Mauricio & Lora, Eduardo, 2007. "La reforma de las instituciones fiscales en América Latina," Libros y Documentos Institucionales, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 2822.
    59. Philip J. Cook, 2007. "Introduction to Paying the Tab: The Costs and Benefits of Alcohol Control," Introductory Chapters, in: Paying the Tab: The Costs and Benefits of Alcohol Control, Princeton University Press.
    60. Fischel, William A., 2001. "Homevoters, Municipal Corporate Governance, and the Benefit View of the Property Tax," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 54(n. 1), pages 157-74, March.
    61. Richard M. Bird & Michael Smart, 2012. "Financing Social Expenditures in Developing Countries: Payroll or Value Added Taxes?," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper1206, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    62. Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, 2001. "Mexico: An Evaluation of the Main Features of the Tax System," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0112, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    63. Peggy B. Musgrave, 2002. "Tax Policy in the Global Economy," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2032.
    64. Anke Hoeffler & Paul Collier, 2005. "Democracy and Resource Rents," Economics Series Working Papers GPRG-WPS-016, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    65. James M. Buchanan, 1963. "The Economics of Earmarked Taxes," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 71(5), pages 457-457.
    66. Bird, Richard M. & Martinez-Vazquez, Jorge & Torgler, Benno, 2008. "Tax Effort in Developing Countries and High Income Countries: The Impact of Corruption, Voice and Accountability," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 55-71, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Richard M. Bird & Eric M. Zolt, 2014. "Taxation and inequality in the Americas: Changing the fiscal contract?," Chapters, in: Richard M. Bird & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez (ed.), Taxation and Development: The Weakest Link?, chapter 7, pages 193-237, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. repec:idq:ictduk:13711 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Gwaindepi, Abel, 2019. "Domestic revenue mobilization in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America: A comparative analysis since 1980," Lund Papers in Economic History 209, Lund University, Department of Economic History.
    4. Roel Dom, 2017. "Semi-Autonomous Revenue Authorities in Sub-Saharan Africa: Silver Bullet or White Elephant," Discussion Papers 2017-01, University of Nottingham, CREDIT.
    5. Abel Gwaindepi, 2021. "Domestic revenue mobilisation in developing countries: An exploratory analysis of sub‐Saharan Africa and Latin America," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(2), pages 396-421, March.
    6. Niño-Zarazúa, Miguel & Santillán Hernández, Alma, 2021. "The political economy of social protection adoption," MPRA Paper 109213, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Robert Dibie & Raphael Dibie, 2020. "Analysis of the Determinants of Tax Policy Compliance in Nigeria," Journal of Public Administration and Governance, Macrothink Institute, vol. 10(2), pages 3462-3462, December.

    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. Richard M. Bird, 2012. "Taxation and Development: What Have We Learned from Fifty Years of Research?," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper1202, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    2. Richard M. Bird & Eric M. Zolt, 2014. "Taxation and inequality in the Americas: Changing the fiscal contract?," Chapters, in: Richard M. Bird & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez (ed.), Taxation and Development: The Weakest Link?, chapter 7, pages 193-237, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Bird, Richard M. & Zolt, Eric M., 2011. "Dual Income Taxation: A Promising Path to Tax Reform for Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 1691-1703.
    4. Roy Bahl, 2014. "A retrospective on taxation in developing countries: Will the weakest link be strengthened?," Chapters, in: Richard M. Bird & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez (ed.), Taxation and Development: The Weakest Link?, chapter 12, pages 405-442, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Iris Claus & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & VIoleta Vulovic, 2012. "Government Fiscal Policies and Redistribution in Asian Countries," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper1213, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    6. repec:idq:ictduk:13711 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Odd-Helge Fjeldstad, 2013. "Taxation and Development: a Review of Donor Support to Strengthen Tax Systems in Developing Countries," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2013-010, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    8. Sanjeev Gupta & João Tovar Jalles, 2020. "Tax Revenue Reforms and Income Distribution in Developing Countries," Working Papers REM 2020/0137, ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, REM, Universidade de Lisboa.
    9. Fjeldstad, Odd-Helge, 2013. "Taxation and Development : A Review of Donor Support to Strengthen Tax Systems in Developing Countries," WIDER Working Paper Series 010, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    10. repec:idq:ictduk:13683 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. James Alm, 2018. "Is the Haig‐Simons Standard Dead? The Uneasy Case for a Comprehensive Income Tax," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 71(2), pages 379-398, June.
    12. Richard M. Bird, 2008. "Tax Challenges Facing Developing Countries," Working Papers id:1618, eSocialSciences.
    13. Ибрагимова Найля Мурадовна, 2015. "Эмпирическая Оценка Эффективности Ндфл И Ндс В Узбекистане," Higher School of Economics Economic Journal Экономический журнал Высшей школы экономики, CyberLeninka;Федеральное государственное автономное образовательное учреждение высшего образования «Национальный исследовательский университет «Высшая школа экономики», vol. 19(1), pages 81-103.
    14. James Alm, 2019. "Can Indonesia Reform Its Tax System? Problems And Options," Working Papers 1906, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    15. Marjan Petreski & Despina Tumanoska & Bojana Josifovska, 2019. "Good or bad tax? Assessing the early effects of the progressive and higher personal income tax in North Macedonia," Finance Think Policy Studies 2019-06/24, Finance Think - Economic Research and Policy Institute.
    16. Canavire-Bacarreza, Gustavo & Martínez-Vázquez, Jorge & Vulovic, Violeta, 2013. "Taxation and Economic Growth in Latin America," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 4583, Inter-American Development Bank.
    17. Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & Violeta Vulovic & Yongzheng Liu, 2011. "Direct versus Indirect Taxation: Trends, Theory, and Economic Significance," Chapters, in: Emilio Albi & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez (ed.), The Elgar Guide to Tax Systems, chapter 2, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    18. Gupta, Sanjeev & Jalles, João Tovar, 2022. "Do tax reforms affect income distribution? Evidence from developing countries," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    19. Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & Mark Rider & Riatu Qibthiyyah & Sally Wallace, 2006. "Who Bears the Burden of Taxes on Labor Income in Russia?," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0621, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    20. Peter, Klara Sabirianova & Buttrick, Steve & Duncan, Denvil, 2010. "Global Reform of Personal Income Taxation, 1981–2005: Evidence From 189 Countries," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 63(3), pages 447-478, September.
    21. Leonce Ndikumana, 2014. "International Tax Cooperation and Implications of Globalization," CDP Background Papers 024, United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs.
    22. Richard M. Bird, 2014. "Global Taxes and International Taxation: Mirage and Reality," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper1429, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:ays:ispwps:paper1307. 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: Paul Benson (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ispgsus.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.