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Algerian Customs
World Customs Organization
World Bank
Research Workshop
« Measurement in Customs and Tax administrations in Developing and Emerging Countries »
Algiers, March 5-6 2012
http://www.wcoomd.org/Algiers2012ResearchWorkshop/
Call for Papers
Organising Committee
Mohamed Benguerna - Applied Economic Research Center for Development (CREAD) Hanane Benyagoub – Algerian Customs
Giorgio Blundo – Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (Centre Norbert Elias) Thomas Cantens – World Customs Organization and Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (Centre Norbert Elias)
Robert Ireland – World Customs Organization
Mathilde Maurel – Paris 1 Sorbonne University (Centre d’économie de la Sorbonne) Gael Raballand – World Bank
Patricia Revesz – World Customs Organization
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Research Workshop Algiers, March 5-6 2012
Measurement in Customs and Tax Administrations in Developing and Emerging Countries
Measurement of public policy is presented as a legacy of the New Public Management (NPM) theory initiated in the 1970s and, as such, considered as a support for neoliberal policies in Western countries. Researchers have extensively analyzed NPM and measurement in public services, especially in “social” fields such as Health and Education. Paradoxically, the tax and customs administrations, which use numbers in their daily activity, have been the subject of limited empirical research, particularly in developing and emerging countries. In these countries, measurement appears under disparate forms with common features and stakes which have to be understood.
Measurement is put forward as an appropriate solution to regulate relations within the administration among officials, and between the administration and its outside (users, donors, government). Be it to achieve an optimal level of revenue, to improve the effectiveness of controls, to strengthen the political authority and internal control, or to improve the relationship with different types of users, measurement is seen as an administrative technique which furthers objectivity. This transparent objectivity conveyed by figures is a solution proposed to support reforms in environments where subjectivity and asymmetry of information caused by corruption and weak government resources disturb the relationships between civil servants, government, donors and users.
When applied to taxation, however, measurement is never neutral. To use figures and name them (for instance “performance” or “risk”) is part of a political, economical and social process that has to be informed. For example, this is the case when the government turns institutional goals into figures by setting revenue targets which have an important impact on the daily work of civil servants; or when the users’ behaviors are statistically analyzed to detect those of them who have potentially fraudulent practices.
These processes also interfere with the professional culture of customs and taxes, based on both a coercive function and freedom to implement. Their freedom of action when they control goods and people can be challenged by measurement.
A new focus on measurement should be enlightened in developing and emerging countries, taking into account i) the important impact of corruption, ii) the strong asymmetry of information between the ones who seek to reform (ministers, heads of administrations) and the ones who apply the reform (the officers on the ground), iii) the limited number of seats of power due to the concentration of trade flows in a few entry points or the low number of major taxpayers and iv) the strong influence of donors and international organizations on tax issues.
In this context, the World Customs Organization, the World Bank and the Algerian Customs have organized a research workshop in Algiers on 5 and 6 March 2012. The objective of this workshop is twofold.
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On the one hand, the aim is to promote applied research on existing measurement tools and/or experiments conducted by customs and tax administrations, international organizations and donors. As such, the contributions of practitioners are encouraged, especially in a narrative style to report on the implementation of practices of quantification, its difficulties and the changes in the relations between officials and users, government, donors and between officials themselves.
Besides implementation, a second key issue is how to evaluate the effect of a measurement technique. Are quantitative approaches sufficient to measure the impact of a measurement technique? Are randomized controlled trials (RCT) feasible in customs and tax administrations?
Can RCT itself be used as a measurement technique for evaluating the administrative action?
On the other hand, the aim of the workshop is to deepen the analysis of measurement as a technique of government as it applies to tax, with the help of several disciplines (anthropology, law, economics, history, political science and sociology).
One issue is the global dissemination of similar techniques of government through taxation.
From the historical point of view, to what extent are the new measurement techniques used in the administrations of developing and emerging countries linked to those that accompanied the structural adjustment of the 1980s-1990s? What is the role of international organizations and donors in the production and dissemination of "standards" for measurement?
A second issue is the effect of measurement on the coercive relationship between officials and users, observable in the professional cultures and the representation of the state. Does measurement go against a professional culture based on discretionary powers? Is the representation of the state and the consent to pay tax modified when tax and customs administrations use measurement also as a tool of communication and transparency?
A third issue is how the introduction and the use of measurement modify the relations within the tax and customs administrations. Do reforms based on measurement modify the relations of authority or do they ensure their reproduction under new forms? Is measurement a new arena for existing interest groups of civil servants who do not share the same concepts or interests about the role and the functioning or their administration?
Full-length papers (10 000 words maximum) and abstracts (300 words maximum) will be considered, giving priority to full papers. Submissions can be written in French or English.
Interpretation will be available during the workshop. After the workshop, a collective book of selected contributions will be issued.
The deadline for replies is November 1, 2011. Authors will receive an answer before November 14, 2011. Full length papers should be received no later than February 10, 2012.
Hotel accommodations for presenters will be paid. Airplane tickets may also be paid. Further information will be given at http://www.wcoomd.org/Algiers2012ResearchWorkshop/.
To respond to this call and/or attend the workshop, you can email your paper and/or your request to [email protected] and [email protected].
