No taxation without property rights: Formalization of property rights on land and tax revenues from individuals in sub-Saharan Africa

Marina Nistotskaya and Michelle D'Arcy

No wp-2021-175, WIDER Working Paper Series from World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER)

Abstract: The arguments that property rights and taxation positively affect development are well established in separate literatures, but the link between property rights and taxation is under-studied. To address this gap, we theorize that formalization of individual property rights facilitates economic exchange at scale, providing a viable opportunity for individuals to improve their economic standing, in exchange for which property owners assent to pay taxes. We illustrate the argument by comparing the historical evolution of tax states in early modern Europe and colonial Africa.

Keywords: Property rights; Taxation; Sub-Saharan Africa; Afrobarometer (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his, nep-iue, nep-law and nep-pub
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