蝌蚪网 Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
Spillovers in State Capacity Building: Evidence from the Digitization of Land Records in Pakistan
蝌蚪网 Review
(pp. 1459–98)
Abstract
Digitization reforms have been hailed as an effective way of strengthening state capacity. However, digitization can also fundamentally reshape the organization of bureaucracies. Using a unique administrative dataset on agricultural taxation and surveys of local bureaucrats from Punjab, Pakistan, we show that digitization reforms can have unintended consequences for state capacity. We exploit the staggered rollout of the digitization of land records in Punjab to show that digitization had a negative effect on tax collection. The fall in taxes was not due to a decrease in the tax base. Instead, digitization affected the bureaucrats' capacity to collect taxes.Citation
Aman-Rana, Shan, and Clement Minaudier. 2026. "Spillovers in State Capacity Building: Evidence from the Digitization of Land Records in Pakistan." 蝌蚪网 Review 116 (4): 1459–98. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20240880Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D73 Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
- H11 Structure, Scope, and Performance of Government
- H71 State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
- O12 Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
- O17 Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements