IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/devchg/v49y2018i5p1195-1222.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Direct Taxation and State–Society Relations in Lagos, Nigeria

Author

Listed:
  • Leah Gatt
  • Oliver Owen

Abstract

Existing research suggests that external sources of finance, such as foreign aid and natural resource rents, allow states to generate revenue independently of their societies, disincentivizing them from forming close links with their citizens and severely problematizing the notion of a social contract. In Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, a series of personal income tax reforms have seen an increase in taxpayer compliance. Considering Lagosians’ perceptions of their relation with the state government, this study examines whether the state had to ‘earn’ its revenue by developing a closer relationship with its citizens, and whether citizens responded through a greater willingness to pay tax. It explores how citizens understand this relationship, what role they perceive themselves to fulfil, and what their expectations are for the future of state–society relations. The study shows how, through efforts to visibly link tax to service delivery, a social contract is emerging between Lagos State and its citizens — but that this relationship differs among groups, in that it is shaped by pre‐existing concepts of public organization and modes of political engagement.

Suggested Citation

  • Leah Gatt & Oliver Owen, 2018. "Direct Taxation and State–Society Relations in Lagos, Nigeria," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 49(5), pages 1195-1222, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:49:y:2018:i:5:p:1195-1222
    DOI: 10.1111/dech.12411
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12411
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/dech.12411?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Prichard,Wilson, 2015. "Taxation, Responsiveness and Accountability in Sub-Saharan Africa," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107110861.
    2. Laurent Fourchard, 2011. "Lagos, Koolhaas and Partisan Politics in Nigeria," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1), pages 40-56, January.
    3. Fjeldstad, Odd-helge & Semboja, Joseph, 2001. "Why People Pay Taxes: The Case of the Development Levy in Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(12), pages 2059-2074, December.
    4. Gerald M. Easter, 2002. "Politics of Revenue Extraction in Post-Communist States: Poland and Russia Compared," Politics & Society, , vol. 30(4), pages 599-627, December.
    5. repec:idq:ictduk:12795 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Mick Moore, 2001. "Political Underdevelopment: What causes ‘bad governance’," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(3), pages 385-418, September.
    7. Bodea, Cristina & LeBas, Adrienne, 2016. "The Origins of Voluntary Compliance: Attitudes toward Taxation in Urban Nigeria," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(1), pages 215-238, January.
    8. North, Douglass C. & Weingast, Barry R., 1989. "Constitutions and Commitment: The Evolution of Institutions Governing Public Choice in Seventeenth-Century England," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 49(4), pages 803-832, December.
    9. Bodea, Cristina & Lebas, Adrienne, 2016. "The Origins of Voluntary Compliance: Attitudes toward Taxation in Urban Nigeria – CORRIGENDUM," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(1), pages 239-240, January.
    10. Ross, Michael L., 2004. "Does Taxation Lead to Representation?," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 34(2), pages 229-249, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jonathan L. Weigel & Elie Kabue Ngindu, 2023. "The taxman cometh: Pathways out of a low‐capacity trap in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 90(360), pages 1362-1396, October.
    2. Takaaki Masaki, 2016. "The impact of intergovernmental transfers on local revenue generation in Africa: Evidence from Tanzania," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-113, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. Weigel, Jonathan, 2020. "The participation dividend of taxation: how citizens in Congo engage more with the state when it tries to tax them," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 104561, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Masaki, Takaaki, 2018. "The impact of intergovernmental transfers on local revenue generation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 173-186.
    5. Jean Raoul NKOUDOU BENGONO & Boniface EPO NGAH & Simon Pierre ONANA, 2023. "Effets des transferts intergouvernementaux sur la mobilisation des recettes publiques locales : cas des communes camerounaises," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 58, pages 83-101.
    6. Takaaki Masaki, 2016. "The impact of intergovernmental transfers on local revenue generation in Africa: Evidence from Tanzania," WIDER Working Paper Series 113, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    7. Olatunde Otusanya, Julius & Gbade Adeyeye, Babatunde & Ovienbor, Lucky, 2019. "Informal Sector Taxpayers' Perception Of Influence Of Government Accountability On Voluntary Tax Compliance And The Moderating Role Of Fiscal Exchange," International Journal of Contemporary Accounting Issues-IJCAI (formerly International Journal of Accounting & Finance IJAF), The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), vol. 8(2), pages 1-20, September.
    8. Yener Altunbas & John Thornton, 2011. "Does Paying Taxes Improve the Quality of Governance? Cross‐Country Evidence," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 3(3), pages 1-17, September.
    9. Vanessa van den Boogaard & Wilson Prichard & Nikola Milicic & Matthew Benson, 2016. "Tax revenue mobilization in conflict-affected developing countries," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-155, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    10. Prichard, Wilson & Salardi, Paola & Segal, Paul, 2018. "Taxation, non-tax revenue and democracy: New evidence using new cross-country data," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 295-312.
    11. Adrienne LeBas, 2017. "Who trusts? Ethnicity, integration, and attitudes toward elected officials in urban Nigeria," WIDER Working Paper Series 126, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    12. repec:idq:ictduk:13551 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Lucie Gadenne, 2017. "Tax Me, but Spend Wisely? Sources of Public Finance and Government Accountability," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(1), pages 274-314, January.
    14. Cockx, Lara & Francken, Nathalie, 2016. "Natural resources: A curse on education spending?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 394-408.
    15. Cockx, Lara & Francken, Nathalie, 2014. "Extending the concept of the resource curse: Natural resources and public spending on health," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 136-149.
    16. Fahad Hassan Khan, 2014. "From revenues to democracy?," Departmental Working Papers 2014-25, The Australian National University, Arndt-Corden Department of Economics.
    17. van der Windt, Peter & Humphreys, Macartan & Medina, Lily & Timmons, Jeffrey F. & Voors, Maarten, 2019. "Citizen Attitudes Toward Traditional and State Authorities: Substitutes or Complements?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 52(12), pages 1810-1840.
    18. Pablo Balán & Augustin Bergeron & Gabriel Tourek & Jonathan L. Weigel, 2022. "Local Elites as State Capacity: How City Chiefs Use Local Information to Increase Tax Compliance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(3), pages 762-797, March.
    19. Broadberry, Stephen & Gardner, Leigh, 2014. "African economic growth in a European mirror: a historical perspective," Economic History Working Papers 56493, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    20. Flores-Macías, Gustavo A., 2018. "Building support for taxation in developing countries: Experimental evidence from Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 13-24.
    21. Mcloughlin, Claire, 2024. "Public services as carriers of ideas that (de-) legitimise the state: The illustrative case of free education in Sri Lanka," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:49:y:2018:i:5:p:1195-1222. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0012-155X .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.