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Tax Buoyancy in Sub‐Saharan Africa: An Empirical Exploration

Tax Buoyancy in Sub‐Saharan Africa: An Empirical Exploration African Development Review, Vol. 29, No. 1, 2017, 1–15 Joao Tovar Jalles Abstract: In this paper we provide short- and long-run tax buoyancy estimates for 37 sub-Saharan African countries for the period 1990–2015. By means of Mean Group and Pooled Mean Group estimators, we find that in 19 out of 37 countries growth has improved fiscal sustainability over time. Moreover, in only 11 out of 37 countries the tax system has acted as a good automatic stabilizer; Furthermore, tax buoyancy seems to be larger during contractions than during times of economic expansions. Finally, countries with a relatively larger agricultural sector (human capital index and stronger institutions) show a lower (higher) long-run buoyancy coefficient estimate, while high inflation and economic volatility reduce that ability to maximize tax collection. 1. Introduction A traditional function of the tax system is to bring in sufficient revenue to meet the growing public sector requirements. However, many countries have not been able to match growth in government size with revenue mobilization through taxation and, consequently, resorted to internal and external borrowing to finance (growing) deficits. Over time, we have seen tax systems around the world being revamped and restructured with the objective of maximizing tax http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png African Development Review Wiley

Tax Buoyancy in Sub‐Saharan Africa: An Empirical Exploration

African Development Review , Volume 29 (1) – Mar 1, 2017

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References (16)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© 2017 African Development Bank
ISSN
1017-6772
eISSN
1467-8268
DOI
10.1111/1467-8268.12234
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

African Development Review, Vol. 29, No. 1, 2017, 1–15 Joao Tovar Jalles Abstract: In this paper we provide short- and long-run tax buoyancy estimates for 37 sub-Saharan African countries for the period 1990–2015. By means of Mean Group and Pooled Mean Group estimators, we find that in 19 out of 37 countries growth has improved fiscal sustainability over time. Moreover, in only 11 out of 37 countries the tax system has acted as a good automatic stabilizer; Furthermore, tax buoyancy seems to be larger during contractions than during times of economic expansions. Finally, countries with a relatively larger agricultural sector (human capital index and stronger institutions) show a lower (higher) long-run buoyancy coefficient estimate, while high inflation and economic volatility reduce that ability to maximize tax collection. 1. Introduction A traditional function of the tax system is to bring in sufficient revenue to meet the growing public sector requirements. However, many countries have not been able to match growth in government size with revenue mobilization through taxation and, consequently, resorted to internal and external borrowing to finance (growing) deficits. Over time, we have seen tax systems around the world being revamped and restructured with the objective of maximizing tax

Journal

African Development ReviewWiley

Published: Mar 1, 2017

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