A large body of evidence argues that expanded taxation can spark expanded demands for accountability from taxpayers. To explore this question, we take advantage of a property tax reform in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in which new and increased property tax bills were distributed to some households but not others. This allows us to isolate the causal effect of the new tax bills on attitudes and political engagement.

Researchers

Wilson Prichard

Wilson Prichard is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, a Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, and Chief Executive Officer of the International Centre for Tax and Development. His research focuses on the relationship between taxation and citizen demands for improved governance in sub-Saharan Africa.

Abou Bakarr Kamara

Abou Bakarr Kamara is a Country Economist for the International Growth Centre (IGC) Liberia and Sierra Leone. He is an economist with over 10 years experience in both research and policy.

Niccoló Meriggi

Niccoló Meriggi is a country economist for IGC (International Growth Centre) Sierra Leone. He has been working in Sierra Leone for three years, where he has been engaging and advising government on the implementation of development programmes, strategies to evaluate programme implementation, and the use of lessons learnt from these programmes.

Kevin Grieco

Kevin Grieco is a PhD student in Political Science at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In Sierra Leone, his research looks at electrification and the productive use of electricity, recruitment and incentive strategies for public employees, and tax reform in urban and rural settings

Julian Michel

Julian Michel is a PhD student in Comparative Politics at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). He has a range of research projects on topics such as taxation, migration, populism & democratic backsliding, and identity politics.