Tax Mobilization in Africa: Is the Secret Hidden in Women's Political Empowerment?
2026-08-22
This article examines the effects of women's political empowerment (WPE) on tax revenue mobilization using a panel sample of 41 African countries over the 2000–2022 period. Utilizing the system Generalized Method of Moments, the empirical results demonstrate that WPE significantly enhances tax revenue mobilization in Africa. This finding remains robust to alternative measures of both WPE and tax revenue. Furthermore, beyond a specific turning point, increased WPE tends to diminish tax revenue mobilization. Finally, the study highlights that WPE operates through several transmission channels, including corruption control, the size of the informal economy, and female labor force participation. In terms of public policy, strengthening gender quotas within the African political sphere is crucial to enhancing tax mobilization. Nonetheless, given the threshold effects identified in this relationship, policymakers must prioritize the quality of women's political representation rather than focusing solely on increasing their numerical representation within political decision‐making circles.