Citizen Participation and Mobilization of Local Tax Resources in Benin: The Case of the Taxation of Built and Unbuilt Property Taxes

This study assesses the causal impact of tax education on property-tax collection in Benin. Two different treatments (deterrence and persuasion) were administered through a randomized controlled trial. The results show that both treatments have positive and significant effects on taxpayers’ behavior compared to taxpayers who received neither treatment. The effects of the deterrence treatment have a stronger causal effect than do those of the persuasion treatment. In addition, taxpayers who received deterrence paid 30.19% over the average of the amounts paid by control-group taxpayers (a difference of 9,588 West African francs).