Tax revenue mobilization and institutional quality in sub-Saharan Africa: An empirical investigation

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of institutional quality on tax revenue collection in sub-Saharan African countries. We include the six institutional quality indicators (i.e., voice and accountability, political stability, regulatory quality, rule of law, control of corruption, and government effectiveness) as explanatory factors for tax revenues and its components in a sample of 42 countries over the period 1996–2019. A system GMM approach was used for the estimations. Consistent with previous results, we find that institutional quality has positive and significant effects on tax revenue collection in sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, aggregate total tax revenues, direct taxes, income taxes, and goods and services taxes are positively affected by the six institutional quality indicators. Indirect taxes are positively associated with four indicators, with the exception of government effectiveness and political stability, while tax on international trade are affected by institutional quality factors, with the exception of control of corruption and voice and accountability. These findings indicate that sub-Saharan African countries should improve institutional quality to boost tax revenue collection.