Taxation and State-Building in Developing Countries

Edited by Deborah Brautigam, Odd Fjeldstad and Mick Moore

in Cambridge Books from Cambridge University Press

Abstract: There is a widespread concern that, in some parts of the world, governments are unable to exercise effective authority. When governments fail, more sinister forces thrive: warlords, arms smugglers, narcotics enterprises, kidnap gangs, terrorist networks, armed militias. Why do governments fail? This book explores an old idea that has returned to prominence: that authority, effectiveness, accountability and responsiveness is closely related to the ways in which governments are financed. It matters that governments tax their citizens rather than live from oil revenues and foreign aid, and it matters how they tax them. Taxation stimulates demands for representation, and an effective revenue authority is the central pillar of state capacity. Using case studies from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America, this book presents and evaluates these arguments, updates theories derived from European history in the light of conditions in contemporary poorer countries, and draws conclusions for policy-makers.

Date: 2008
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (198)

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cup:cbooks:9780521888158

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.cambridge ... p?isbn=9780521888158

Access Statistics for this book

More books in Cambridge Books from Cambridge University Press
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Data Services ().