Event

Taxation is foundational to the social contract between states and citizens, and central to the processes of state-building and accountable governance. It is also key for increasing equity and financing sustainable development.

The newly published book, Taxing Africa: Coercion, Reform and Development, offers a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the crucial debates around taxation and development in Africa. Written by leading international experts, it examines issues from tax evasion by multinational corporations and African elites to how ordinary people navigate complex webs of 'informal' local taxation, examining the challenges and the potential for reform.

On 7 November, the editors Odd-Helge Fjeldstad, Wilson Prichard and Mick Moore will present their book at NUPI as part of the conference The New Politics of Development: Fragility, Taxation and State-building.

The book launch will be live streamed on NUPI’s YouTube channel:

Odd-Helge Fjeldstad holds a PhD in economics from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration. He has published widely, both scholarly and policy-oriented, on tax reform, revenue administration, local government taxation, tax compliance and evasion, fiscal corruption and capital flight. He has served as director of major multidisciplinary research and capacity building programs.

Mick Moore is Professorial Fellow at the Institute for Development Studies (IDS). He holds a PhD in political economy and has done extensive field research in Asia and Africa, especially Sri Lanka, Taiwan and India. He has taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His broad research interests are in the domestic and international dimensions of good and bad governance in poor countries. He focuses specifically on taxation and governance and he is the founding Chief Executive Officer of the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD).

Dr Wilson Prichard's research focuses on the relationship between taxation and citizen demands for improved governance in Sub-Saharan Africa. He is the Joint Research Director of the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD). His previous work has focused on political economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, including foreign investment, the formulation of economic policy and trade liberalization, and he has worked in several countries in Africa.