What can be learned from the governance trajectory of African countries since the beginning of the 21st century? What is the quality of governance on the African continent and how does it shape development?...
Customs have been at the core of development concerns, especially in developing countries. In this context, customs are developmentally important to the extent that they sit at the intersection between...
Trade-related taxes comprise the largest share of domestic revenues in Somalia. However, not all administrations benefit from the collection of customs revenues, thus creating a large fiscal disparity...
This paper presents a new methodology to detect corruption in customs and applies it to Madagascar’s main port. Manipulation of assignment of import declarations to inspectors is identified by measuring...
Somalia has a triple challenge of low levels of labor force participation, low productivity, and high levels of poverty. Economic growth in Somalia has been low, subject to shocks; and thus, insufficient...
This note describes how political economy analysis can be used to promote development, focusing specifically on state capture. It is intended to help practitioners within the World Bank execute and disseminate...
This paper explores why taxation reforms are so different in fragile states, the conditions in which they occur, and what can be done to make these reforms more successful - including contributing, whenever...
The document collection discusses a trade cost analysis for a specific region in September 2020. The focus is on the potential impact of tariff and declared values harmonization on trade diversion between...
This paper presents a new methodology to detect collusion in customs and applies it to Madagascar’s main port. Manipulation of assignment of import declarations to inspectors is identified by detecting...
Before the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, Somalia’s economy was on an upward trajectory, recovering from the 2016/17 drought. The economy grew at an estimated rate of 2.9 percent in 2019, on par with...
This paper examines how providing better information to customs inspectors and monitoring their actions affects tax revenue and fraud detection in Madagascar. First, an instrumental variables strategy...
Creating the conditions for effective and sustainable revenue mobilization is a crucial step in the state-building process, allowing governments to first and foremost generate the resources needed to function...
Malagasy customs introduced performance-based payfor customs inspectors in Madagascar’s main port of Toamasina, incentivizing them to curb tax evasion andillicit financial flows, and expedite customs clearance...
The World Bank Economic Review is a professional journal used for the dissemination of research in development economics broadly relevant to the development profession and to the World Bank in pursuing...
Are politically connected firms more likely to evade taxes? This paper presents evidence suggesting firms owned by President Ben Ali and his family were more prone to evade import tariffs. During Ben Ali’s...
In early 2011, the citizens of countries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) took to the streets to demand change in an enduring movement unprecedented in its scope and momentum. Protesters...
Rule of Law is a theoretical concept social scientists use to describe a political order where laws are predictable and applied equally to all citizens, regardless of their political or economic influence...
To carry out their various missions (collecting revenue, facilitating trade, and ensuring security), many customs administrations have established a risk management unit. In developing countries, however...
The state-owned enterprise (SOE) landscape has become increasingly diverse. There used to be some relatively well-defined criteria, but with the growing complexity of state participation in the economy...
Are politically connected firms more likely to evade taxes? This paper presents evidence suggesting firms owned by President Ben Ali and his family were more prone to evade import tariffs. During Ben Ali’s...