Building Trust and Tax Morale in Kenya’s Counties: An Evaluation of Participatory Budgeting

Governments around the world are adopting various participatory institutions to incorporate citizens directly into policymaking venues – to allow them to express their preferences, and to select public services that might better address their basic needs. The current wave of governance reform focuses on the adoption of institutions that promote transparency and participation in the hope of generating better public services – and, more broadly, perceptions of reciprocity and accountable governance. Through building reciprocity and accountability, it is hoped that participatory institutions will also improve citizens’ trust in government. By building trust, there is an expectation that citizens’ tax morale may also improve, which then connects to broader tax compliance.

We test these arguments in Kenya, a low-income, rural, semi-democratic context, where many governments are now adopting participatory institutions. We find that better functioning programmes are associated with improvements in accountability and governance.

Summary of ICTD Working Paper 191