In an article in the "Journal of Peace Research", Jakob Frizell of project B10 "Armed Conflict and Dynamics of Social Policy" reveals how the link between war and progressive taxation have travelled far beyond the West and the World Wars – only to suddenly vanish in the 1990s.
The fiscal reckoning of war: Contemporary armed conflict and progressive income taxation
If mass warfare was what made Western governments start taxing the rich, with the double upshot of expanded state capacity and reduced inequality in its wake, what about the rest of the world? War is not a thing of the past, but progressive taxation no longer appears as its obvious appendage. Drawing on studies on the political economy of war and taxation, the article pushes extant theories beyond the historical specificities of the West, arguing for a general applicability of the link, including, not least, to civil wars. As long as wars lead to extraordinary revenue needs, governments will seek to increase taxes; as long as they lead to inequitable outcomes, taxpayers will demand they be placed on the rich. If the link is no-longer evident, the explanation must be located beyond the confines of the state.
Based on new data on top marginal income tax rates covering 6 decades and more than 60 war-affected developing countries, regression analyses show that war, more than any other factor, has led governments to introduce more progressive taxation. The link operated across political regimes, levels of economic development, and conflict types – only to then uniformly disappear in the 1990s. The results of extended analyses are consistent with the proposed explanation emphasizing shifts in the international political order at the end of the Cold War.
Jakob Frizell holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the European University Institute (Italy) and is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher at the CRC 1342. His research centers on the political economy of taxation, inequality, and distribution, particularly with regards to armed conflicts and their aftermath.
Contact:
Dr. Jakob Frizell
CRC 1342: Global Dynamics of Social Policy
Mary-Somerville-Straße 7
28359 Bremen
Phone: +49 421 218-58602
E-Mail: jfrizell@uni-bremen.de
