Enforcing Colonial Rule: Blood Tax and Head Tax in French West Africa

Denis Cogneau () and Zhexun Mo
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Denis Cogneau: PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris
Zhexun Mo: WIL - World Inequality Lab, Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality - New York

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Abstract: We study the enforcement of two pillars of colonial rule in French West Africa—military conscription and head tax collection—using new district-level data from 1919 to 1949. Tax compliance was strikingly high, with about 80 percent of liable taxpayers meeting obligations despite limited administrative capacity. Military recruitment targets were likewise consistently met despite avoidance and poor health. Spikes in head tax rates significantly increased tax-related protests, prompting colonial authorities to moderate rates in times of crisis and adjust burdens to perceived district affluence. Yet local shocks such as droughts or crop price collapses were largely ignored.

Keywords: Conflict; Colonialism; Compliance; Taxation; Military Conscription; State Capacity; French Colonial Empire; West Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-11
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-04823289v2
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