Think WIDER webinar — Paving the way for fiscal capacity
Channel: UNU-WIDER
Date: 23/03/2023

The process of transformation of public finance institutions, or the emergence of fiscal states, is a fundamental part of becoming an effective state. How can developing economies build fiscal states that are capable of collecting revenues from a broad tax base, as well as effectively spending public funds on a range of goods and services that will benefit households and firms?  

In this one-hour webinar, panelists from the academic and policy communities shared insights on what we know about the origins of fiscal states in developing economies, and their policy implications.  

The webinar addressed the following questions:

- Does history and politics matter in the development of fiscal states, and how? 
- What are the lessons of the historical experiences of developed economies for building fiscal states in developing economies?
- How do social contracts between the state and citizen emerge wherein citizens voluntarily pay taxes to the state?
- What type of policy interventions are needed to increase the fiscal capacity of the state? 

The event was chaired by Kunal Sen, who leads the Fiscal states – the origins and developmental implications project, part of UNU-WIDER’s Domestic Revenue Mobilization (DRM) programme. Introduction to the topic was given by Antonio Savoia (University of Manchester, UNU-WIDER). Panelists included Shanta Devaraj (Georgetown University, former Chief Economist of the Africa region in the World Bank), Sansia Blackmore (African Tax Institute) and Anne Mette Kjaer (Aarhus University).

See more on the event page: https://www.wider.unu.edu/event/paving-way-fiscal-capacity