Monopoly of Taxation Without a Monopoly of Violence: The Weak State's Trade-Offs From Taxation

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Henn, Soeren J.; Mugaruka, Christian Mastaki; Ortiz, Miguel; de la Sierra, Raul Sanchez; Wu, David Qihang
• 署名单位: Newcastle University - UK; University of California System; University of California Berkeley; University of Chicago; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMIC STUDIES
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6527
• DOI: 10.1093/restud/rdae036
• 发表日期: 2024
• 页码: 1126-1156
• 关键词: economics; military

摘要

This study presents a new economic perspective on state-building based on a case study in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's hinterland. We explore the implications for the state of considering rebels as stationary bandits. When the state, through a military operation, made it impossible for rebels to levy taxes, it inadvertently encouraged them to plunder the assets of the very citizens they previously preferred to tax. When it negotiated with rebels instead, this effect was absent, but negotiating compromised the state's legitimacy and prompted the emergence of new rebels. The findings suggest that attempting to increase taxation by a weak state in the hinterland could come at the expense of safety in the medium term and of the integrity of the state in the long term.