PhD Defence: Jule Kaini Tinta

Jule Kaini Tinta
CERDI, UCA

Examiners 

Romain Houssa, Professor, Université de Namur, Belgique
Awa Traore-Diaw, Professor, Université Cheikh Anta DIOP, Sénégal
Léandre Bassole, Directeur Général Afrique Centrale, BAD, Cameroun
Bassambié Franck Bationo, Special Advisor to the Governor, BCEAO, Sénégal
Aissata Coulibaly, Economist, World Bank, USA
Jean-François Brun, Associate Professor, UCA, France
Samuel Guerineau, Professor, Université Clermont Auvergne, France

Abstract

The ability of states to sustainably mobilize domestic tax revenues is a fundamental pillar of economic development and political stability. In developing countries, this capacity remains constrained not only by structural factors narrow tax bases, high levels of informality, and limited administrative capacity but also by a persistent deficit in tax legitimacy and trust between the state and taxpayers. Beyond its technical dimension, taxation is therefore an institutional and political relationship that shapes the social contract. However, the literature has paid relatively little attention to how digital transformation reshapes these mechanisms.

This thesis lies at the intersection of public economics, political economy, and behavioral economics. It argues that the digitalization of tax administrations should not be viewed merely as a technical modernization tool, but as an institutional lever capable of transforming the relationship between the state and taxpayers. By simultaneously affecting compliance costs, transparency, and perceptions of legitimacy, digitalization can strengthen tax capacity and, more broadly, state capacity. The central question of this thesis is therefore to what extent digitalization can sustainably enhance tax revenue mobilization, taxpayer compliance, and tax legitimacy in developing countries.

The first essay examines the impact of digitalization on non-resource tax revenues in 111 developing countries over the period 2005-2019. Panel data estimations reveal a positive and statistically significant effect of digitalization on tax revenues. An identification strategy based on exogenous connectivity shocks strengthens the causal interpretation. However, these effects depend critically on institutional quality and administrative capacity, suggesting that technology cannot substitute for credible institutional frameworks.

The second essay analyses the effects of electronic tax services on the compliance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Burkina Faso, using matched survey and administrative data from 2014 to 2024. The results show that the adoption and effective use of digital tax platforms significantly improve tax compliance, reflected in higher reported and paid amounts. These effects are driven not only by reduced compliance costs, but also by improved perceptions of simplicity, transparency, and fairness, highlighting the importance of institutional and cognitive mechanisms. The findings suggest that digitalization policies should be accompanied by targeted support measures for SMEs.

The third essay explores the behavioral foundations of tax capacity in Africa by examining the role of digital exposure in shaping perceived tax legitimacy. Using Afrobarometer data covering 34 countries in 2022, logit and probit estimations show that regular digital exposure is significantly associated with a stronger recognition of the state’s right to tax. This result highlights the role of digital tools in shaping civic and fiscal norms, emphasizing that revenue mobilization relies as much on consent and legitimacy as on enforcement.

Overall, this thesis shows that digitalization can sustainably enhance tax capacity only when embedded within a credible and legitimate institutional framework. It contributes to the literature by providing an integrated analysis of the macroeconomic, microeconomic, and behavioral channels through which digital transformation can strengthen state capacity in developing countries. The findings underscore the importance of complementing digitalization strategies with institutional reforms aimed at improving transparency, fairness, and trust, in order to consolidate the fiscal social contract and support long-term sustainable development

Keywords

Digitalization, Tax capacity, Digital Financial Services, Developping Countries, State capacity, Tax revenue mobilization. 

https://theses.fr/s363622