What impact has the Covid-19 pandemic had on taxpayer perceptions and tax compliance in low-income countries? In this seminar hosted by the World Bank, the ICTD’s Research Director Dr. Giulia Mascagni will present results from new research in Rwanda. Recently published in an ICTD paper, the research draws on unique survey data to understand how taxpayer perceptions of the equity of the tax system as well as their attitudes towards compliance have shifted since the advent of the pandemic.
Dr. Mascagni also investigates which types of tax policies have garnered public support for the purpose of funding recovery efforts, and will discuss how active collaboration with tax authorities can yield novel and policy-relevant research.
Watch the event recording here.
Agenda
10:30 – 10:35 AM EST: Opening Remarks by Chiara Bronchi
10:35 – 11:30 AM EST: Presentation by Dr. Giulia Mascagni
11:30 – 11:40 AM EST: Discussion by Anna Custers
11:40 – 12:00 AM EST: Q&A from the audience
Speakers
Chiara Bronchi, Practice Manager, Fiscal Policy and Sustainable Growth, Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment Global Practice, World Bank
Chiara Bronchi is the Practice Manager for the Fiscal Policy and Sustainable Growth Unit in the Macroeconomics, Trade, and Investment Global Practice of the World Bank Group. She leads a group of macro-fiscal economists and tax experts who work on fiscal policy and sustainable growth. Chiara has over 25 years of professional experience in managing multi-stakeholder and multi-disciplinary programs gained in various international organisations. She started her professional career as Economic Adviser with the U.K. government, joined the OECD in 1998 as a Young Professional, and then the IMF in 2003. She served at the Head of the Fiscal Affairs Office of Kosovo under the UN Protectorate before joining the World Bank in 2008, where she has led lending operations, technical assistance, and knowledge products. In 2018-19 she was on external assignment as the Chief Thematic Officer of the ADB, where she provided vision and goals for the ADB thematic cluster and the ADB Strategy 2030. She has published on taxation and public spending. Most recently, she has co-authored an approach paper for the Conclave of Ministers of Finance on financing Human Capital Development. Chiara holds a doctorate in economics from Bologna University and a MSc in economics from University College of London.
Giulia Mascagni, Research Director, ICTD
Giulia Mascagni’s main area of work is taxation, but she also has research interest in public finance, evaluation of public policy, and aid effectiveness. She is an economist by training, holding a PhD in Economics from the University of Sussex. Her main geographical interest lies in African countries, with a particular focus on Ethiopia and Rwanda. Giulia is currently working at IDS as Research Fellow and as Research Director of the International Centre for Taxation and Development (ICTD). At IDS she teaches economics, taxation and public finance at the postgraduate level and on professional short courses. Previously she worked as Associate Tutor at the University of Sussex, as an independent consultant for ITAD, the World Bank, the Overseas Development Institute, and as Adviser and Trainee at the European Commission. Giulia has field experience in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Rwanda, amongst others. In Ethiopia she worked as Associate Economic Affairs Officer at the UN Economic Commission for Africa and she was Resident Researcher at the Ethiopian Development Research Institute in Addis Ababa. In Rwanda, Giulia led a set of large-scale field experiments aiming to understand the determinants of tax compliance.
Anna Custers, Economist, Macroeconomics, Trade & Investment Global Practice, World Bank
Anna is an Economist in the Macroeconomics, Trade & Investment Global Practice. She focuses on fiscal policy in developing countries. In particular, on domestic resource mobilisation, including both customs and tax reform, as well as the role of trust, morale, and equity in tax systems. Prior to joining the World Bank Anna worked with the Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) in both India and France. She holds a PhD in Management Research from the University of Oxford and a MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics.
Register for the event here.
The Innovations in Tax Compliance Seminar Series is supported by the Global Tax Program, the Innovations in Tax Compliance Program, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
