Day 2⃣ of the @WorldBank @TheIFS @ODI_Global @skatteforsk #wbtaxconf on the political economy of public finance is kicking off now! Timetable and zoom link here ▶️ wrld.bg/IsYb50PGYoV I'll be live tweeting summaries of each presentation 👇
What happens when you restrict indebted local govt. from borrowing? Claudia Ruiz Ortega of the @WorldBank finds in 🇲🇽 leads to: ➡️ Less public borrowing + spending ➡️ BUT higher GDP + employment Because banks can now lend to local firms (less crowding out)!
@WorldBank The discussant of the previous paper asked whether the findings are externally valid. Rare that we find out so soon! @KavyaRavindran1 of @GWUEconomics find that state govt. borrowing in run-up to elections in 🇮🇳 means (mostly state-owned) banks reduce credit to private firms.
Adding to a great session on fiscal rules and govt debt, Neelanjan Datta of @IITKanpur finds that adoption of state fiscal rules in 🇮🇳 leads to 🔽 crowding out. ⚖️ Important tradeoff of fiscal rules: welfare loss from less tax smoothing vs welfare gain from less crowding out.
What does the social contract mean for taxation in Africa? In the second 🍳timer session, @oyebolaoo of @WorldBank find that the president's ethnic homeland get better public goods, and are more supportive of taxation. May African govts. be building 'narrow' social contracts?
🧂Going back to the 1700s, @EvaDavoine of @UCBerkeley finds that high differences in salt tax rates between regions in 🇫🇷 lead to ✊riots when the govt. stops smuggling between regions. ▶️ Implications for today on the importance of tax fairness.
How can 🙏 religious leaders affect tax compliance? In 🇹🇿 Tanzania, @JasminVietz of @UniHohenheim finds that citizens are more likely to pay tax when they are encouraged by religious leaders, rather than by tax officials.
Do citizens respond to improved public goods by increasing tax compliance? A presentation by, um..., "me", says no. Building new new parks, pavements + lighting 🏞️🛣️💡 has no effect on compliance in Mexico City 🇲🇽 Maybe everyone who is civic-minded already pays?
If you're wondering how I can live-tweet whilst doing a presentation, thank my temporary social media manager @vedanth_nair We'll restart after lunch at 1.30 London time!
Govts. are introducing strict spending controls to limit corruption, but can they be counterproductive? Joana Naritomi, of @LSEEcon, find that bureaucrats in 🇧🇷 are more likely to underspend health budgets s when they are more uncertain that the spending complies w/ the rule
@LSEEcon What happens when local mayors are targeted by a removal attempt? @kovo_lazare of @EmoryPolisci finds that in 🇧🇯 (Benin), politically-motivated attempts to remove mayors can lead to better governance and development outcomes.
How do politicians deal with accusations of corruption? @guillelezama of @PittTweet find that accused politicians in 🇧🇷 downplay topics that are mentioned by the corruption audit report, and increase populist rhetoric.