Taxing informality: Compliance and preferences in urban Zambia

What drives tax compliance among informal workers, and how does compliance affect their preferences? Informal workers in developing countries encounter multiple taxes levied by government authorities and non-state actors. Using an original survey of approximately 800 informal workers in Lusaka, Zamb...

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Autor principal: Resnick, Danielle
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Taylor and Francis 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142694
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author Resnick, Danielle
author_browse Resnick, Danielle
author_facet Resnick, Danielle
author_sort Resnick, Danielle
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description What drives tax compliance among informal workers, and how does compliance affect their preferences? Informal workers in developing countries encounter multiple taxes levied by government authorities and non-state actors. Using an original survey of approximately 800 informal workers in Lusaka, Zambia, this paper shows that compliance is tied to the governance setting where workers operate. In cooperative markets, compliance is higher where services are better and where trust in market leaders is stronger. Yet, in markets overseen by the city council, revenue collection capacity is more relevant. This suggests that the drivers of compliance can vary depending on the routes of accountability between tax payers, revenue collectors, and service providers. A vote choice experiment further reveals that regardless of market type, those who pay taxes are more likely to favour a politician interested in improving market services rather than one campaigning to improve the city’s schools and health clinics. The results suggest that even within the informal sector, the process of paying taxes affects preferences and shapes citizens’ preferences for elected leaders who espouse a platform most congruent with their own priorities.
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spelling CGSpace1426942025-12-08T10:29:22Z Taxing informality: Compliance and preferences in urban Zambia Resnick, Danielle informal sector work force policies taxes urban areas capacity development markets governance What drives tax compliance among informal workers, and how does compliance affect their preferences? Informal workers in developing countries encounter multiple taxes levied by government authorities and non-state actors. Using an original survey of approximately 800 informal workers in Lusaka, Zambia, this paper shows that compliance is tied to the governance setting where workers operate. In cooperative markets, compliance is higher where services are better and where trust in market leaders is stronger. Yet, in markets overseen by the city council, revenue collection capacity is more relevant. This suggests that the drivers of compliance can vary depending on the routes of accountability between tax payers, revenue collectors, and service providers. A vote choice experiment further reveals that regardless of market type, those who pay taxes are more likely to favour a politician interested in improving market services rather than one campaigning to improve the city’s schools and health clinics. The results suggest that even within the informal sector, the process of paying taxes affects preferences and shapes citizens’ preferences for elected leaders who espouse a platform most congruent with their own priorities. 2021-06-17 2024-05-22T12:10:53Z 2024-05-22T12:10:53Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142694 en https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-019-09371-7 https://doi.org/10.5129/001041519X15615651139961 Open Access Taylor and Francis Resnick, Danielle. 2021. Taxing informality: Compliance and preferences in urban Zambia. Journal of Development Studies 57(7): 1063-1085. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2020.1841171
spellingShingle informal sector
work force
policies
taxes
urban areas
capacity development
markets
governance
Resnick, Danielle
Taxing informality: Compliance and preferences in urban Zambia
title Taxing informality: Compliance and preferences in urban Zambia
title_full Taxing informality: Compliance and preferences in urban Zambia
title_fullStr Taxing informality: Compliance and preferences in urban Zambia
title_full_unstemmed Taxing informality: Compliance and preferences in urban Zambia
title_short Taxing informality: Compliance and preferences in urban Zambia
title_sort taxing informality compliance and preferences in urban zambia
topic informal sector
work force
policies
taxes
urban areas
capacity development
markets
governance
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142694
work_keys_str_mv AT resnickdanielle taxinginformalitycomplianceandpreferencesinurbanzambia