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Informal Revenue Generation and the State: Evidence from Sierra Leone

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Informal Revenue Generation and the State: Evidence from Sierra Leone Informal revenue generation and the state: Evidence from Sierra Leone by Vanessa van den Boogaard A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Political Science University of Toronto © Copyright by Vanessa van den Boogaard 2020 Informal revenue generation and the state: Evidence from Sierra Leone Vanessa van den Boogaard Doctor of Philosophy Political Science University of Toronto 2020 Word count: 109,158 How states raise revenue is critical to understanding how they govern. Orthodox analyses of the state, however, have tended to focus only on formal taxation, formal budgets, and formal revenues. I correct his bias by extending the analysis of taxation and the state beyond formal tax systems, capturing the informal dynamics of public finance that affect the majority of citizens in low-income countries. By examining informal revenue generation in the context of formal taxation, I shed light on the how and why of the state and institutional development. This study presents a new approach to understanding formal–informal institutional interactions and offers insight into a set of tangible issues of critical importance to the citizens of modern states. Classic theories of statehood anticipate that the state should always seek to control informal revenue generation. In practice, states often coexist with this informality. Informal taxing actors can reinforce state authority in unexpected ways and the relationship between the state and informal taxing actors is not necessarily zero-sum. State engagement with informal revenue generation is not always driven by a desire to gain a monopoly on taxation and authority. Instead, informal revenue generation may align with or even underpin the state’s governing strategy. Informal revenue generation can also have counterintuitive effects on statebuilding. Though informality is usually seen as detrimental to statebuilding, I show that informal revenue generation can strengthen state institutional capacity. The politics of statebuilding are, at least in part, played out at the local level in conjunction with informal institutions. It is in these local processes where informal revenue generation and informal taxing actors can reinforce modern statehood and statebuilding processes. The state that emerges may not look like a rational, Weberian institutional model. Nevertheless, it may prove more resilient and dynamic than expected. ii Acknowledgments This project would not be possible without the support of an innumerable list of teachers, mentors, colleagues, friends and family. While I thank a few specific supporters here, it is impossible to fully express my gratitude and to fully acknowledge all those who have inspired and supported me along the way. In helping me to understand the context in Sierra Leone, my deepest gratitude goes to everyone that gave their time and participated in my research, including survey respondents, interviewees, focus group participants, and everyone across the country that let me to talk to them about the dynamics of tax and informality. Thank you for your time and graciousness and for welcoming me into your communities and homes. You showed me great warmth and patience and forged in me a deep love of the country. I hope I have done justice, however imperfect, in sharing your experiences and perspectives and look forward to returning to share with you my findings, which I’m sure will spark many more hours of conversation. My greatest intellectual debt is to my supervisor, Wilson Prichard. I am enormously privileged to have had his guidance and mentorship for nearly a decade, during which he expanded my intellectual horizons and understanding of my own potential. He is a model of an engaged academic and citizen, deeply committed to making his research accessible and meaningful to those for whom it matters most. For his unconditional support and invaluable guidance prior to and throughout my doctoral studies, thank you is not enough. While he has been an unparalleled mentor and example of engaged scholarship, he is also a dear friend. He has been endlessly supportive, open, and honest and I have never doubted that he cares more about me as a person than as a scholar. For helping to foster that warmth and unconditional support, I must also thank his partner, Paola Salardi, who has been a welcome part of my supervisory family. My research has been greatly improved by the guidance of my supervisory committee and readers, who pushed me in many valuable ways to deepen the contributions of my work. It was a joy to have Kanta Murali as a mentor. She provided invaluable guidance that made my iii work much richer. She is the epitome of a well-rounded scholar, balancing her academic brilliance with humility and grace. Lucan Way helped me to see the path forward at important stages of my research, allowing me to clarify the key messages and see the broader implications of my work. I am deeply grateful for the valuable insights of my internal and external readers. Antoinette Handley provided helpful suggestions for exploring the issues and themes raised in my research, while reading an undeniably long dissertation with a much-appreciated attention to detail. I couldn’t have asked for a more thoughtful external reader than Pierre Englebert. He provided valuable advice about how to improve both my dissertation and my future research. My research would not have been possible without the intellectual community at the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD). I owe major debts of gratitude to the whole team—especially Mick Moore, Giulia Mascagni, Rhiannon McCluskey, and Jalia Kangave—for supporting my research over the years and recognizing the value of an unusual topic in the field of tax research. My gratitude to the entire programme team is also immense. In particular, Simon Rees, Oliver Roy, Adam Randon, and Camilla Walsh, whose beautiful light left us far too soon—provided immense support during my field research. I have been so lucky to be immersed in the wider ICTD community of fellows and researchers across sub- Saharan Africa and for the opportunity to learn from so many teachers in so many settings. I truly cannot express how grateful I am to you all and how lucky I am to continue working with such an impressive and supportive team. An enormous community in Sierra Leone has made my research possible and has guided me in innumerable ways. My mentor, Dr Samuel Jibao, supported my work and provided me with an intellectual home and a welcoming space at the Centre for Economic Research and Capacity Building (CERCB) in Freetown. I benefitted immensely from the intellectual stimulation and friendships of those associated with the CERCB over the years, including Mbatilo Kamara, the Hon. Festus Lansana, Dr James Sandy, Mustapha, Baindu Ngaujah, Samuka Konuwa, Sahr Musa, Rogers Amara, Moses Sellu, and Thomas Johnny. In helping me to navigate and understand the richness and beauty of the country and culture, I will always be grateful to my research assistants. They obliged my endless questions; showed great iv patience in my desire to push one day, mile, interview further; made me laugh, sing, and dance when I thought I had no energy left; and demonstrated a deep humility in listening to the stories of people across the country. You all taught me so much, in so many ways—a nɔ no aw fɔ tɛl una tenki. Joseph Moore, my elder brother, you always had my back, showed an immense commitment to the broader goals of the work, and welcomed me with open arms into your family. Alie Hassan Kargbo, I will always be grateful for your thoughtfulness and quiet intelligence. Your work ethic is unparalleled, as is the kindness that you share with the world. Sieh Kargbo, I am grateful for your sharp wit and intelligence and your willingness to have real conversations, even when the topics are challenging. Abdulaziz Kamara, thank you for your commitment, insights, and kindness. Hassan Sahid Sesay, thank you for your guidance and blessings. Ibrahim Bah, I am grateful for your skill in navigating difficult terrain, ingeniously fixing breakdowns with no supplies or parts, and keeping up the good humour of the team. Soko Kai-Samba, you guided me in my early research trips and will always be a true friend and mentor. Ibrahim Jalloh, you helped immensely with the transcriptions of many long interviews, doing so with a patience and perseverance that is almost unimaginable. While my dissertation is based on research from Sierra Leone, I would be remiss not to thank all of the colleagues and research assistants that have helped me to understand informal revenue generation in other contexts. The knowledge that you shared with me shaped this work in many ways. In particular, my colleagues and dear friends at the Association Congolaise pour la Recherche Académique deserve recognition. Yannick Bokasola, Eddy Ngwakoyo, Marie-France Kitoga, Jean-Claude Ipungu—many thanks for your friendship, your generosity, and for helping me to understand informality and statehood in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Likewise, I’m deeply appreciative of my friends at Marakuja in Goma, as well as my colleagues, friends, and research assistants in Somalia who have deepened my understanding of informal revenue generation, while making research journeys immensely pleasurable and rewarding. I am grateful to a wide community of teachers, mentors, and supportive peers at the University of Toronto and beyond. This includes numerous colleagues and lifelong v friendships forged in the Department of Political Science. I have gained a great deal from the supportive communities at Massey College, the Institute for Municipal Finance and Governance, and the Centre for Critical Development Studies, while my research was shaped in part by the 2016 faculty and cohort of the Institute for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research and engagement with the Working Group in African Political Economy.
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