Tax Effort: The Impact of Corruption, Voice and Accountability

Arbeitspapier

In this paper we argue that a more legitimate and responsive state is an essential factor for a more adequate level of tax effort in developing countries. While at first glance giving such advice to poor countries seeking to increase their tax ratios may not seem more helpful than telling them to find oil, it is presumably more feasible for people to improve their governing institutions than to rearrange nature's bounty. Improving corruption, voice and accountability may not take longer nor be necessarily more difficult than changing the opportunities for tax handles and economic structure. The key contribution of this paper is to extend the conventional model of tax effort by showing that not only do supply factors matter, but that demand factors such as corruption, voice and accountability also determine tax effort to a significant extent.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: CREMA Working Paper ; No. 2007-13

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Structure, Scope, and Performance of Government ; Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue: General ; Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
• Subject: Tax effort ; tax reforms ; developing countries ; Latin America ; corruption ; voice and accountability

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Bird, Richard M. ; Martinez-Vazquez, Jorge ; Torgler, Benno
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA)
• (where): Basel
• (when): 2007

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/214387
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET