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

Vanessa van den Boogaard, Yannick Lokaya Bokasola, Gayatri Sahgal and Caleb Jérémie Dohou

No wp-2026-12, WIDER Working Paper Series from World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER)

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.

Keywords: Taxation; State legitimacy; Statebuilding; Democratic Republic of the Congo (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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