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Personal income tax, redistribution and income inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Tewa Papy Voto

    (University of Johannesburg)

  • Nicholas Ngepah

    (University of Johannesburg)

Abstract

We assess the roles of personal income tax and fiscal redistribution in income inequality for 30 Sub-Saharan Africa economies from 1980 to 2020, employing the dynamic common correlated effect and cross-sectional augmented autoregressive distributed lag estimators. Empirical results show that personal income tax positively affects income inequality in the full sample SSA economies. Compared to the full sample, the magnitude of the effect remains positive but smaller for non-least developed countries (countries not classified as least developed countries in our sample). However, personal income tax has a negative effect on income inequality for least developed countries. Additionally, fiscal redistribution increases inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa economies and non-least developed countries, while it lowers inequality for least developed countries. Interestingly, fiscal redistribution reduces the level of the positive impact of personal income tax on inequality over the full sample. The main policy implication of this research is that well-designed redistributive fiscal measures associated with anti-corruption policy and good governance may help policymakers to reduce the positive effect of personal income tax on inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa economies.

Suggested Citation

  • Tewa Papy Voto & Nicholas Ngepah, 2024. "Personal income tax, redistribution and income inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 71(2), pages 205-223, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:inrvec:v:71:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s12232-023-00440-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s12232-023-00440-9
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    PIT; Income inequality; Fiscal redistribution; DDCE; CS-ARDL;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • C40 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - General

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