Political institutions and taxation, 1800-1945

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with the link between political institutions and taxation. It focuses on the period from the early nineteenth century to the end of the Second World War, a time during which modern parliamentary democracies emerged and the modern tax state was born. The first part summarizes previous historical literature on the politics of taxation, emphasizing three important factors: suffrage, executive constraints, and government ideology. The second part uses newly available historical data to explore patterns identified by existing research. While some of the findings are in line with previous research focusing on Western Europe, others are not. The chapter ends with some suggestions for further research.