An impromptu panel here at #FfD4...

...perhaps the most important factor is trust in the state and the government - transparency and concerns about corruption are key drivers of support for new wealth taxes. There are key lessons in this: progressivity and transparency can both be a part of tax design and communication. (4/...)

Interestingly, if we dissect who supports new wealth taxes, people with a higher income are unexpectedly quite supportive! As are people who identify as supporters of the PMLN and the PPP. (3/...) However...

If we look at different tax proposals, we find that support is heterogeneous - with taxes that are structured more progressively being more popular. Notably, if we add more progressive structures to classical wealth taxes (like inheritance), they also become more popular! (2/...)

📰New data: Is there public support for new #progressive and #wealth_taxes in Pakistan?
Our policy brief dissects brand new public opinion data on a range of wealth and progressive tax proposals, based on a survey of 7500 voting-age Pakistanis.
What do we find? (1/...)
www.ictd.ac/publication/...

Really nice to see that the Journal of Borderland Studies considers 'Smugglers and States' a "must-read for scholars of political economy, border studies, and state formation". If that's you, the book is available here:

cup.columbia.edu/book/smuggle...

Your email will not find me.

Lazy weekend rexommendation: always a sucker for coming of age but really enjoyed this book, it's got a unique voice, poetry, wit and force that stays with you.

Well that is unfortunate

Helsinki asking me questions about academia

How much #zakat is being paid in #Pakistan during #Ramadan?
Our research estimates the total is over 600 billion rupees - more than the state's main social support grant (BISP), more than the state collects in excise duty or in official development aid.
Read more here:
www.ictd.ac/blog/pakista...

Looking forward to this next week - St Antony's College is very much where this book started, so it feels really special to get to take it back there!

It looks like the rumours are true looks the new POLITY score for the US (one of the most used measurements of democratic status in political science) is indeed 0 - its lowest score since 1789, and it is no longer designated a democracy following a 'Presidential Coup' post January 20th.

I've long been a fan of Judith Scheele's work, so it's been a lovely surprise to learn from a kind and thoughtful review in the Journal of North African Studies that she's read my book! (And for the low price of £30 or an email to your local library, so can you!)
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Finally found the time to move over here. Give me a moment to wrap my head around this place!