The International Centre for Tax and Development held its annual meeting in Lomé, Togo, from December 10th to 12th, hosted by Togo Customs. The third annual meeting brought together tax administrators, researchers, and experts to debate current issues on tax and development, with a particular focus on the rapidly changing global policy area of international taxation.

More information about the ICTD Annual Centre Meeting, including presentation slides and an interview of Professor Prichard for Télévision Togolaise, can be found at http://www.ictd.ac/en/events/acm2013.

The ICTD is a global policy research consortium that focuses on the political economy of taxation and tax reform in low-income countries, with an emphasis on supporting collaborative research with local partners, including those from tax administrations themselves. The ICTD aims to mobilize knowledge on how countries may strengthen the effectiveness and equity of tax collection, as well as on how expanded taxation may be pursued in a way that contributes to broad governance gains. It explore these issues at the sub-national, national, and international levels, with the latter work focused on understanding the role of tax havens in undermining effective taxation and development more broadly. The centre aims to generate and disseminate relevant knowledge to policymakers and local stakeholders, and to mobilize knowledge in ways that will widen and deepen public debate about tax issues within low-income countries.

More information about the ICTD, including recent publications and blogs, can be found at www.ictd.ac.

Wilson Prichard, Assistant Professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs and the Department of Political Science, has been a Research Director of the ICTD since its inception in 2010. His research explores the political foundations of developmental states, with a focus on the differential impacts of taxation, resource wealth, and foreign aid for development and governance outcomes, particularly in post-conflict settings. The core of this work culminates in a forthcoming book, entitled Taxation, Responsiveness and Accountability: The Dynamics of Tax Bargaining in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Professor Prichard’s recent publications include:

 

Professor Prichard’s ongoing research includes:

  • Taxation, Taxpayer Perceptions, and Governance in District Councils in Sierra Leone, with Samuel Jibao: This research explores how local government tax collection may be strengthened and may contribute to broader improvements in local service provision and governance, utilizing survey data from four City Councils and seven Districts in Sierra Leone.
  • Informal Taxation and the Political Economy of Cross-border Trade in Sierra Leone, with Samuel Jibao and Vanessa van den Boogaard: This research analyzes the political economy of non-statutory payments made by cross-border traders to state and non-state actors at two customs posts in Sierra Leone.
  • Informal Taxation and Livelihoods in Sierra Leone, with Samuel Jibao and Vanessa van den Boogaard: This research examines how informal tax payments affect livelihoods, development, and governance relationships across three rural and highly conflict-affected districts in Sierra Leone.
  • Taxation, Natural Resources, and Accountability: New Cross-Country Econometric Evidence, with Paul Segal and Paola Salardi: This research employs the ICTD’s new Global Tax Dataset to look at the connections between taxation, natural resource wealth, and political accountability across countries, using much more complete and accurate country-level tax and revenue data than has previously been possible.
  • Taxation of Informal Small Businesses in Africa: The Experience of Market Women in Ghana, with Vanessa van den Boogaard: This research explores the political economy of market taxation in two District Assemblies in northern Ghana, aiming to understand the norms and institutions of taxation in small towns and rural areas, and how taxation has shaped relationships between small businesses and local governments.

More information about Professor Prichard’s research, including a full list of publications, can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/wilsonprichard/home.