Nontaxation and Representation: The Fiscal Foundations of Political Stability

Kevin M. Morrison

Nov. 2014 · Cambridge University Press

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Does oil make countries autocratic? Can foreign aid make countries democratic? Does taxation lead to representation? In this book, Kevin M. Morrison develops a novel argument about how government revenues of all kinds affect political regimes and their leaders. Contrary to conventional wisdom, Morrison illustrates that taxation leads to instability, not representation. With this insight, he extends his award-winning work on nontax revenues to encompass foreign aid, oil revenue, and intergovernmental grants and shows that they lead to decreased taxation, increased government spending, and increased political stability. Looking at the stability of democracies and dictatorships as well as leadership transitions within those regimes, Morrison incorporates cross-national statistical methods, formal modeling, a quasi-experiment, and case studies of Brazil, Kenya and Mexico to build his case. This book upends many common hypotheses and policy recommendations, providing the most comprehensive treatment of revenue and political stability to date.

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Kevin M. Morrison is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. He is the co-author of The Future of Development Assistance: Common Pools and International Public Goods (1999). Morrison's academic work has been published in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, Business and Politics, Comparative Political Studies, Comparative Politics, the Development Policy Review, Electoral Studies, International Organization, Perspectives on Politics, Public Choice, the Review of International Organizations, and the World Bank Research Observer. His article in International Organization won the 2009 Robert O. Keohane Award for best paper in that journal by an untenured professor. His opinions and commentary have appeared in the Durham Herald-Sun, the Financial Times, the International Herald Tribune, and the Raleigh News and Observer, and on Slate.com.