Wilson Prichard

Wilson Prichard is an Associate Professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and the Department of Political Science, is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies and is the CEO of International Center for Tax and Development.  He holds a Ph.D. and MPhil from the Institute of Development Studies, and a BA from Harvard University.  His research is focused on the question of taxation and development, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa.  How can states expand their ability to raise revenues equitably in order to finance services and redistribution?  And what are the broader implications of expanded tax systems for state-building and accountability?  He is the author of Taxation, Responsiveness, and Accountability:  The Dynamics of Tax Bargaining in Sub-Saharan Africa (Cambridge University Press) and Taxing Africa (Zed Books, named a Foreign Affairs Best Book of 2019).  His work has appeared in a wide range of academic journals, including the British Journal of Political Science, International Affairs, World Development, and the Journal of Development Studies, and he also writes and blogs broadly for policy audiences.  He works closely with civil society organizations, national governments, regional organizations, and international agencies, including as research lead on the World Bank’s Innovations in Tax Compliance program, as the technical lead on a reform of the property tax system in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and as a member of the Advisory Board to the ‘BEPS and Mining’ program of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals, and Sustainable Development.