July 2011

How Neopatrimonialism Affects Tax Administration

A Comparative Study of Three World Regions

This paper examines the effect of neopatrimonialism on the tax administration as a core state function in six countries from three different world regions: Argentina, Venezuela, Indonesia, the Philippines, Kenya and Zambia. The authors conclude that neopatrimonialism is a valuable concept for comparative area studies with the potential to foster dialogue on the “state in operation” across the regional divide. However, several indicators are more valid for some world regions than for others. The authors find that there is no systematic relationship between neopatrimonial trajectories and the strength of tax administration.

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