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Beyond the state, but reinforcing it? Informal tax institutions and state legitimacy in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Author

Listed:
  • Vanessa van den Boogaard
  • Yannick Lokaya Bokasola
  • Gayatri Sahgal
  • Caleb Jérémie Dohou

Abstract

This paper explores the role of informal taxation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and aims to shed light on informal fiscal realities and the implications of informal tax institutions for governance and state legitimacy. Relying on mixed-methods data from household surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions across Kinshasa and North Kivu, it focuses on three areas of inquiry: the nature of informal taxation; citizens' perceptions of formal and informal taxing authorities; and the impact of informal taxation on perceptions of the state's legitimacy.

Suggested Citation

  • Vanessa van den Boogaard & Yannick Lokaya Bokasola & Gayatri Sahgal & Caleb Jérémie Dohou, 2026. "Beyond the state, but reinforcing it? Informal tax institutions and state legitimacy in the Democratic Republic of Congo," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2026-12, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2026-12
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kasper Hoffmann & Koen Vlassenroot & Gauthier Marchais, 2016. "Taxation, Stateness and Armed Groups: Public Authority and Resource Extraction in Eastern Congo," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 47(6), pages 1434-1456, November.
    2. Malukisa Nkuku, Albert & Titeca, Kristof, 2018. "Market governance in Kinshasa: the competition for informal revenue through connections (branchement)," IOB Working Papers 2018.03, Universiteit Antwerpen, Institute of Development Policy (IOB).
    3. Soeren J. Henn & Gauthier Marchais & Christian Mastaki Mugaruka & Raúl Sánchez de la Sierra, 2024. "Indirect rule: armed groups and customary chiefs in eastern DRC," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2024-18, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. Henn, Soeren J., 2025. "Complements or Substitutes? How Institutional Arrangements Bind Traditional Authorities and the State in Africa – ERRATUM," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 119(4), pages 2028-2028, November.
    5. repec:idq:ictduk:16466 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Theodore Trefon, 2009. "Public Service Provision in a Failed State: Looking Beyond Predation in the Democratic Republic of Congo," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(119), pages 9-21, March.
    7. Kasper Hoffmann & Koen Vlassenroot & Emery Mudinga, 2020. "Courses au pouvoir: the struggle over customary capital in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo," Journal of Eastern African Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1), pages 125-144, January.
    8. Maria Eriksson Baaz & Ola Olsson & Judith Verweijen, 2018. "Navigating ‘taxation’ on the Congo River: the interplay of legitimation and ‘officialisation’," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(156), pages 250-266, April.
    9. Keith Hart, 2005. "Formal Bureaucracy and the Emergent Forms of the Informal Economy," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2005-11, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    10. Pablo Balán & Augustin Bergeron & Gabriel Tourek & Jonathan L. Weigel, 2022. "Local Elites as State Capacity: How City Chiefs Use Local Information to Increase Tax Compliance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(3), pages 762-797, March.
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