| Title | Chapter 9 |
|---|---|
| Subtitle | The relationship between happiness, tax policy and corruption in selected African countries |
| Contributor | Marina Bornman(author) |
| Karel Jacobus Burger Engelbrecht(author) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.4102/aosis.2025.BK566.09 |
| Landing page | https://books.aosis.co.za/index.php/ob/catalog/book/566 |
| License | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
| Copyright | Marius Venter & Chané de Bruyn. Licensee: AOSIS (Pty) Ltd. The moral rights of the editors and authors have been asserted. |
| Publisher | AOSIS |
| Long abstract | The happiness of citizens greatly influences a country’s economic and social development. This chapter studies the impact of public spending, perceptions of corruption and tax revenue on happiness. Data on these variables were analysed for a selection of nine African countries. A panel regression was used to estimate the effects using ordinary least squares with fixed effects. The model explains more than 82% of the variance in happiness with corruption and tax revenue making statistically significant contributions, while the government spending shows no statistically significant association with happiness. The importance of economic growth for a happier society is reaffirmed; however, societal corruption is detrimental to economic growth and has an adverse effect on happiness. |
| Print length | 14 pages |
| Language | English (Original) |
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Marina Bornman is an associate professor in taxation in the Department of Accountancy at UJ, South Africa. She holds a PhD in Taxation from UJ, South Africa, on the topic of voluntary tax compliance. Her research interests include the intersection of taxation with various other behavioural or social domains such as environmental sustainability, happiness, literacy and compliance.
Karel Engelbrecht is a registered accountant in private practice and an alumna of UJ, South Africa. His research interests include the fairness of taxation, tax canons, tax sustainability and the European Union’s (EU) Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).