Taxation and livelihoods: A review of the evidence from fragile and conflict affected rural areas. ICTD Working Paper 11

Abstract

Despite growing interest in the connections between taxation, development and governance, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the relationship between taxation and people's livelihoods, particularly in places affected by war and violent conflict. Yet, it is in these landscapes that people encounter particularly fierce challenges to livelihood recovery, often finding themselves operating in a political economy environment that is at once complex and shifting, as well as brutal and exploitative.

This joint paper by the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) and the Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium (SLRC) reviews the key literature and argues that if we are truly interested in the relationship between taxation and livelihoods, then an exclusive focus on formal taxation is inadequate.

Citation

Lough, O.; Mallett, R; Harvey, P. Taxation and livelihoods: A review of the evidence from fragile and conflict affected rural areas. ICTD Working Paper 11. Institute of Development Studies, Brighton, UK (2013) 40 pp. ISBN 978-1-78118-119-5

Taxation and livelihoods: A review of the evidence from fragile and conflict affected rural areas. ICTD Working Paper 11

Published 1 January 2013