Blog
91% of sub-Saharan African workers don’t save for old age: Why that’s a problem and how to fix it
by
Owen Nyang'oro
May 2023
Less than 10% of the workers in sub-Saharan Africa save for old age, the lowest rate for any region in the world. That implies most of the...
Blog
What determines tax revenues mobilization?
Tax revenues and political institutions placing constraints on the executive power may reinforce each other over time and this may also bring a shift...
Working Paper
Domestic revenue mobilization and informality
Effective domestic revenue mobilization has gained renewed urgency, especially in the light of the need to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. In taxation debates, the ‘informal sectors’ have hitherto been assumed to be a part of the problem and...
Blog
From Monterrey to Addis Ababa, and what has happened since?
The importance of domestic revenue mobilization and taxation for sustainable development is widely acknowledged in global development discussions, but...
Blog
$1 trillion in the shade: The annual profits multinational corporations shift to tax havens continues to climb and climb
by
Ludvig Wier, Gabriel Zucman
March 2023
About a decade ago, the world’s biggest economies agreed to crack down on multinational corporations’ abusive use of tax havens. This resulted in a 15...
Working Paper
The state and the ‘legalization’ of illicit financial flows
Most research on illicit financial flows (IFFs) has focused on illicit outflows from developing countries and the role of non-state actors in generating IFFs. Less attention has been paid to processes and interfaces through which IFFs enter formal...
Blog
Empirical research is crucial for better tax enforcement in the developing world
I had the privilege to participate in the UNU-WIDER Winter School as one of the lecturers. In this blog, I explain my main takeaways for students and...
Blog
Global tax reforms, net-zero, and domestic revenue: Food for thought from the DRM programme
by
Abrams M.E. Tagem
December 2022
Domestic revenue mobilization (DRM) and taxation have gained prominence lately on the global agenda, most recently with the resolution for the United...
Blog
What can the GRD do for policymakers?
by
Abrams M.E. Tagem
August 2022
A few months ago, I was asked to deliver a lecture at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies on the UNU-WIDER Government Revenue...
Blog
New country on the SOUTHMOD map: Meet our tax-benefit microsimulation team in Rwanda!
by
Anna Toppari
December 2022
How can Global South countries improve their tax and social protection systems? One way is to take advantage of tools that help assess the impact of...
Blog
New global estimates on profits in tax havens suggest the tax loss continues to rise
by
Ludvig Wier, Gabriel Zucman
December 2022
The world has been trying to curb profit shifting to tax havens for a decade, but consistent time series evaluating the impact of these reforms have...
Blog
Secure research data lab in Uganda: A game changer for efficient and fair taxation
by
Maria Jouste, Tina Kaidu Barugahara, Nicholas Musoke
January 2023
In May 2022, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and UNU-WIDER collaboratively launched a secure research data laboratory facility in Kampala, Uganda...
Working Paper
Tax effort revisited: new estimates from the Government Revenue Dataset
Attention on domestic resource mobilization—particularly in developing countries—has increased significantly in recent years. This stems from, among other things, recognition in the Sustainable Development Goals that further domestic funding is...
Working Paper
Fiscal states in sub-Saharan Africa: conceptualization and empirical trends
This paper contributes to the debate on domestic revenue mobilization and state-building in the Global South by asking whether there are fiscal states in sub-Saharan Africa. To answer this question, we review the diverse understandings of the fiscal...
Working Paper
The dynamics of domestic revenue mobilization across four decades
We utilize the recently updated UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset, which covers key indicators on tax and non-tax revenues for 196 countries since the 1980s, to study the dynamics of government revenue tax collection across selected periods from...
Technical Note
Government Revenue Dataset (2021): country notes
This technical note is the third in a series based on the UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (GRD). The preceding notes have described in detail the variables contained within the GRD and the source selection procedures. In this technical note, we...
Blog
Ending aid dependency: Taxation in developing countries can be improved through collaboration
Finland aims to raise the amount of its development assistance to 0.7% of GDP, and this goal has good grounds. But how can we make sure that the...
Blog
The tortoise defeats the hare: Does moderate outlast rapid growth in domestic revenue?
by
Annalena Oppel, Kyle McNabb
February 2022
The past four decades have seen marked improvements in the collection of domestic revenue (tax and non-tax revenues) in many countries of the Global...
Blog
Social protection at a crossroad
by
Annalena Oppel
August 2021
How can we ensure a resilient and inclusive recovery from COVID-19? How can we hold on to the target of eradicating poverty and hunger by 2030, with...
Blog
Co-creation for fair and efficient taxation: Research recommendations to improve policies
by
Maria Jouste, Tina Kaidu Barugahara, Nicholas Musoke
August 2021
How can we determine the taxation of wage earners or multinational corporations in a fair manner? Will simplifying tax administration help increase...
Blog
Unlocking the mystery of domestic savings: What difference do they make?
The socioeconomic fallout from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore discussions on domestic resource mobilization (hereafter DRM)...
Working Paper
Global oil theft: impact and policy responses
This paper, the first of two on global oil theft and fraud, discusses the prevalence, methods, and consequences of global oil theft, valued at US$133 billion per year and equivalent to 5–7 per cent of the global market for crude oil and petroleum...
Blog
Reforming taxation in Kenya to reduce debt distress
by
Clement Otindo
February 2024
Improving tax systems is important for multiple reasons. For Kenya, finding ways to mobilize domestic revenue streams is critical to cutting the...
Blog
Cash Plus: Towards poverty reduction in Zambia
by
Miselo Bwalya
February 2024
The Zambian government wants to reduce poverty by 20% by 2030. To make this happen, the government reformed their national cash transfer programmes...
Blog
Are Sovereign Wealth Funds fit for purpose in Africa?
Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) have become a symbol of national success and a means for global, commercial and geopolitical influence. But how well do...
Blog
Modelling to influence poverty and inequality in Zanzibar: Latest addition to the SOUTHMOD programme
by
Anna Toppari
December 2023
ZANMOD, the tax-benefit microsimulation model for Zanzibar, was launched in November 2023. The model will aid local authorities and researchers in...
Policy Brief
How to support the emergence of effective tax systems
There has been a revival of interest in the state’s role in economic development. Recent research argues that the most successful economies are those where effective states provide crucial public goods and services. The historical emergence of...
Blog
Oslo conference turns the spotlight on sustainable development financing
by
Denise Wall
September 2023
With the deadline for achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals just seven years away, there is an increasing sense of urgency over the...
Blog
From tax data to inclusive policies: How collaboration can help
by
Anna Toppari
September 2023
UNU-WIDER has worked for several years in collaboration with sub-Saharan African revenue authorities to facilitate the analysis of digital tax data...
Project workshop
Domestic savings mini workshop for country case authors
This project workshop brought together the authors responsible for the country case studies of The domestic savings shortfall in developing countries – what can be done about it? project. The country studies will be included in a book volume on...
Wed, 17 March 2021
Past event
Presentation
SOUTHMOD presented at the CeMPA General Meeting
CeMPA, Centre for Microsimulation and Policy Analysis, organized its yearly general meeting for experts working in the area of tax-benefit microsimulation on 12 May 2021. The meeting was held virtually. SOUTHMOD microsimulation models and ongoing...
Wed, 12 May 2021
Online,
United Kingdom
Past event
Project workshop
Project workshop: Fiscal states – the origins and development implications
Tue, 15 June 2021
–
Tue, 22 June 2021
Online,
Helsinki,
Finland
Past event
Presentation
Maria Jouste at the North East Universities Development Consortium
Maria Jouste, UNU-WIDER Research Associate, will present a research paper at the North East Universities Development Consortium on 6 November 2020. The virtual conference, hosted by Dartmouth College, will be held 6-7 November (EST). The topic of...
Fri, 6 November 2020
Past event
Presentation
Maria Jouste on Tax for Development
Maria Jouste, UNU-WIDER Research Associate, will give a presentation at the Tax for Development webinar series on 17 November 2020 (CET). The webinar series is hosted by Chr. Michelsen Institute. The topic of Jouste's presentation will be 'Do tax...
Tue, 17 November 2020
Past event
Project workshop
Extractive Industries: Taxation and Revenues
Thu, 5 November 2020
Zoom,
Finland
Past event
Working Paper
Taxing extractive resources in the transition to a low-carbon future
This paper explores the potential impacts of the transition to a low-carbon future for the taxation of extractive resources. The global debate on climate change has firmly moved on from the question of whether countries ought to shift towards such a...
Blog
International tax research: Why does more than numbers matter
by
Maria Jouste, Tina Kaidu Barugahara, Dorothy Nakyambadde
August 2020
Can tax research be inspiring? Looking back at the three years of collaboration between UNU-WIDER and the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), the answer...
Blog
Lessons for tax policy from the WIDER Development Conference in Oslo
by
Abrams M.E. Tagem
October 2023
The annual WIDER Development Conference held this year in Oslo concentrated on domestic revenue mobilization (DRM). The 2.5-day hybrid event...
Seminar
Extractive industries: taxation and revenues II
Wed, 26 May 2021
Online,
Helsinki,
Finland
Past event
Workshop
First PERUMOD training and launch event
As part of the SOUTHMOD project, the national team at Universidad del Pacífico in collaboration with UNU-WIDER and International Inequalities Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science organizes the first training and launch...
Mon, 20 November 2023
–
Thu, 23 November 2023
Universidad del Pacífico,
Peru
Past event
Presentation
Abrams M.E. Tagem presents at the CERDI research seminar
UNU-WIDER Research Associate Abrams M.E. Tagem presents at the research seminar of the Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches sur le Développement International (CERDI), on 5 December 2023 in Clermont-Ferrand, France.He presents the WIDER Working Paper...
Tue, 5 December 2023
26 avenue Léon Blum,
Clermont-Ferrand,
France
Past event
Presentation
Tax administrative data work presented at Addis Tax Initiative East Africa follow-up meeting
Amina Ebrahim, UNU-WIDER Research Fellow, presents and runs a training at the Addis Tax Initiative (ATI) East Africa regional follow-up technical meeting on tax expenditures in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on 6-8 December 2023. The regional meeting is...
Wed, 6 December 2023
–
Fri, 8 December 2023
Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania
Past event
Lecture
Stata training for Domestic savings country authors
Capacity development on using Stata software is provided to the country authors of The domestic savings shortfall in developing countries – what can be done about it? project. The training is provided virtually by UNU-WIDER Research Associate Abrams...
Wed, 27 October 2021
–
Fri, 29 October 2021
Online,
Finland
Past event
Workshop
Author workshop on firms and taxation using micro data from Uganda
Wed, 8 February 2023
–
Thu, 9 February 2023
Online,
Uganda
Past event
Policy seminar
Findings from recent research based on Zambian administrative tax data
In collaboration with the Research and Statistics Unit at the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), UNU-WIDER organizes a dissemination workshop on two studies evaluating tax compliance in Zambia. This event allows all key stakeholders to acquaint...
Wed, 1 March 2023
Lusaka,
Zambia
Past event
Webinar
Paving the way for fiscal capacity
Tue, 21 March 2023
Online,
Finland
Past event
Webinar
Corruption and theft in the global oil and gas sector
Tue, 18 April 2023
Online,
Finland
Past event
Project workshop
2023 SOUTHMOD workshop
On 5 September 2023, participants from six different time zones gather for a hybrid SOUTHMOD workshop to exchange experiences and knowledge on tax-benefit microsimulation modeling in developing countries. This is the first in-person SOUTHMOD workshop...
Tue, 5 September 2023
Oslo,
Norway
Past event
Presentation
SOUTHMOD presented at the European Conference for African Studies 2023
University of Cologne hosts the European Conference for African Studies on 31 May - 3 June 2023. The topic of this year's conference is 'African Futures'. Raphael Macha, a collaborator of UNU-WIDER's SOUTHMOD project in Tanzania presents a paper on...
Sat, 3 June 2023
Neues Seminargebäude, Seminarraum 26,
Cologne,
Germany
Past event
Presentation
UNU-WIDER at the 2023 Nordic Conference in Development Economics
Tue, 13 June 2023
–
Thu, 15 June 2023
School of Business, Economics and Law,
Vasagatan 1,
Gothenburg,
Sweden
Past event
Presentation
Enrico Nichelatti on the potential of Universal Basic Income to mitigate shocks in sub-Saharan African countries
Freiburg Institute for Basic Income Studies (FIBRIS) organises a hybrid seminar on 17 May 2023. UNU-WIDER Research Assistant Enrico Nichelatti presents his upcoming research paper The potential of Universal Basic Income to mitigate shocks in sub...
Wed, 17 May 2023
Online,
Freiburg,
Germany
Past event
Workshop
COLMOD training
As part of the SOUTHMOD project, the national team at Universidad Externado de Colombia in collaboration with UNU-WIDER and the International Inequalities Institute of the London School of Economics and Political Science organizes a training event on...
Mon, 10 July 2023
–
Fri, 14 July 2023
Online,
Colombia
Past event
Presentation
SOUTHMOD work presented at an ODI seminar
Overseas Development Institute (ODI) organises a hybrid event on 29 June 2023 to present the findings of ODI’s recent work on the role of tax and transfers in addressing income inequality across countries with different income levels. The in person...
Thu, 29 June 2023
Online,
London,
United Kingdom
Past event
Working Paper
Did Uganda’s corporate tax incentives benefit the Ugandan economy or only the firms?
Uganda has one of the lowest corporate income tax collection rates in sub-Saharan Africa, while offering generous corporate tax incentives. It is unclear whether tax incentives achieve their objectives without primarily benefiting firms, potentially...
Project workshop
Domestic savings workshop for authors
Wed, 16 March 2022
–
Thu, 17 March 2022
Online,
Nairobi,
Kenya
Past event
Lecture
Kunal Sen on institutions and development
UNU-WIDER Director Kunal Sen gives a lecture to the staff of the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA). The topic of the lecture is Institutions and development. In his presentation Kunal Sen will discuss the role of...
Fri, 18 March 2022
KIPPRA,
Bishops Road,
Nairobi,
Kenya
Past event
Policy seminar
Tony Addison at the 17th Plenary Meeting of the OECD Policy Dialogue on Natural Resource-based Development
Tony Addison represents UNU-WIDER as one of the invited partner organizations and institutions in the OECD’s Policy Dialogue on Natural Resources Development, which will take place online on 14-15 December 2021. This dialogue is part of the OECD...
Tue, 14 December 2021
–
Wed, 15 December 2021
Online,
Helsinki,
Finland
Past event
Policy seminar
Tony Addison at the 16th Plenary Meeting of the OECD Policy Dialogue on Natural Resource-based Development
Tony Addison represents UNU-WIDER as one of the invited partner organizations and institutions in the OECD’s Policy Dialogue on Natural Resources Development, which takes place online on 30 June – 2 July 2021. This dialogue is part of the OECD...
Wed, 30 June 2021
–
Fri, 2 July 2021
Online,
Helsinki,
Finland
Past event
Project workshop
Author workshop on detecting and countering illicit financial flows
This project workshop brings together authors that were selected to produce research papers for the Detecting and countering illicit financial flows project, to discuss their papers. The workshop takes place online. Following the second call for...
Wed, 22 June 2022
–
Thu, 30 June 2022
Online,
Denmark
Past event
Learning
UNU-WIDER Winter School on tax policy research
UNU-WIDER is launching a Winter School on tax policy research. The aim of the course is to provide African researchers with an understanding of the theories, methods, and data availability for conducting high quality analysis on tax and development economics. The course will take place in two parts during the period 31 May - 16 July 2022. The deadline for applications is 18 March 2022 23:59 UTC+2.
Presentation
Elisa Casi-Eberhard on mandatory disclosure regimes
World Bank's hybrid conference on global tax equity is organized on 22-23 September 2022. Elisa Casi-Eberhard, a Norwegian School of Economics Assistant Professor, gives a presentation on a WIDER Working Paper at the conference. The topic of Casi...
Thu, 22 September 2022
–
Fri, 23 September 2022
Hybrid,
United States
Past event
Presentation
Research on illicit financial flows presented at the Early Researchers Consortium in Accounting
The Accounting Research Groups at the UPF Barcelona School of Management (Spain), Free University of Bolzano (Italy) and University of Padua (Italy) organise the fifth edition of the Accounting Summer Camp in Barcelona on July 13-15 2022. Researcher...
Wed, 13 July 2022
–
Thu, 14 July 2022
UPF-BSM,
Barcelona,
Spain
Past event
Presentation
Research on illicit financial flows presented at the Ninth Annual Mannheim Taxation Conference
The ninth edition of the Annual MannheimTaxation Conference takes place in person in Mannheim, Germany on 8–9 September 2022. Assistant Professor Elisa Casi-Eberhard from the Norwegian School of Economics presents a UNU-WIDER Working Paper in the...
Thu, 8 September 2022
–
Fri, 9 September 2022
Mannheim,
Germany
Past event
Presentation
Research on illicit financial flows presented at the EU Tax Observatory Lunch Seminar
Assistant Professor Elisa Casi-Eberhard from the Norwegian School of Economics presents a UNU-WIDER Working Paper at the EU Tax Observatory lunch seminar on 5 October 2022. The topic of Casi-Eberhard's presentation is So close and yet so far: The...
Wed, 5 October 2022
Paris School of Economics,
Paris,
France
Past event
Webinar
The potential of domestic savings in the Global South
Tue, 7 February 2023
Online,
Finland
Past event