Tax buoyancy in sub-Saharan Africa: an empirical exploration

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Periodical article

Title:	Tax buoyancy in sub-Saharan Africa: an empirical exploration
Author:	Tovar Jalles, Joao
Year:	2017
Periodical:	African Development Review (ISSN 1467-8268)
Volume:	29
Issue:	1
Pages:	1-15
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Subsaharan Africa
Subjects:	taxation economic development economic models
External link:	https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8268.12234
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. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]