No Taxation without Administration: Bringing the State Back into the Public Finance of Developing Countries
审视了发展中国家税收能力建设的新文献，强调税收管理的组织结构、人事和任务改革以及国家合法性的提升对提高税收能力的作用，弥合了公共财政与政治经济学之间的长期分歧。
The empirical economics literature on taxation in developing countries has centered on the importance of third-party information for enforcement. Yet, while surely a long-run objective, leveraging such information remains out of reach in many developing countries due to largely informal economies and low state capacity. This article examines an emerging complementary literature focused on strengthening the “sinews” of state capacity: tax administration. We argue that reforms to the organizational structure, personnel management, and task management of tax authorities have potential to raise tax capacity in developing countries. We also argue that efforts to improve the state’s legitimacy—popular acceptance of its right to tax—can increase capacity and may complement investments in tax administration. Our approach bridges a long-standing divide between how scholars in public finance and political economy approach tax capacity building in developing countries.