Taxing for a Social Contract in Sub-Saharan Africa

Against the backdrop of the Western European experience, the international community forcefully promotes taxation as a central force in establishing a social contract which promotes public goods provision, accountable government, and democratic rule in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, our knowledge regarding whether taxation has the potential to foster a development-oriented social contract in this context is limited. In particular, we lack knowledge about whether taxation shapes citizens’ expectations and demands in favor of such a contract. To fill this gap, we conduct a cross-sectional statistical analysis of micro-level Afrobarometer survey data of the relationship between citizens’ experiences with taxation and their expectations and demands on the state. The results reveal that, on a general level, despite considerable contextual differences between Western Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, taxation is indeed positively associated with preferences and expectations related to public goods provision, accountable government and democratic rule even in sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is considerable variation in the relationship both across and within sub-Saharan African countries, which calls for the further study of potential cofounders of a tax-based development-oriented social contract in the region.