The Political Economy of Taxation in Latin America

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Session Description

Paying taxes is one of the least popular activities worldwide. Latin America, in particular, is notorious for having low direct taxes, weak compliance and enforcement, and high levels of inequality. Although fiscal extraction has gained renewed interest among governments in recent years, with the end of the commodity boom adding special urgency, the successful adoption and implementation of tax reforms is easier said than done, even when tax policy prescriptions are widely shared. This round table provides a comprehensive, region-wide assessment of the importance of political factors for taxation, including public opinion, democratic institutions, natural resources, interest groups, political ideology, and state capacity. What explains the region's low levels of taxation? What explains the low progressivity in its tax structure? And what explains considerable differences across countries? The discussion will be based on participants’ contributions to The Political Economy of Taxation in Latin America, a volume edited by Gustavo Flores-Macías that will be published by Cambridge University Press in the summer of 2019. Participants will discuss the volume’s original theoretical and empirical contributions toward understanding how to overcome the political challenges to taxation.

Sub Unit

• DIVISION 6: Political Economy

Chair

• James E. Mahon Williams College

Presenters

• Tasha A. Fairfield London School of Economics

• Gabriel Ondetti Missouri State University

• Candelaria Garay Harvard University

• Aaron Schneider University of Denver

• Mark Hallerberg Hertie School

• Jennifer Pribble University of Richmond

• Juan Ariel Bogliaccini Universidad Católica del Uruguay