Gary W. Cox (2016). Cambridge University Press.
 
The reader may wonder why we have chosen to highlight a book about England’s rise between 1689 and 1815 from a minor regional power to the most powerful global power. The reason is that we believe that current debates about taxation and state-building in Africa and elsewhere in the Global South also should connect to historical debates. Not because we naively think that lessons from one historical period in a European country can be resettled to contemporary developmental challenges, but because some of the literature on state-building in Western countries grapple with similar questions as current research on state building in Africa. In his book Cox presents interesting arguments about the historical foundation of the English state’s taxing power and how that power was made compatible with economic growth. Cox highlight’s the establishment of annual budgets with shutdown reversions, which restricted rulers power to spend public revenue however they found opportune. The book should be a source of inspiration for those of us who ponder how weak states can increase the tax base even if citizens and private companies have little reason to trust that they will see any benefits from taxation. A key question is therefore how governments’ can make promises for future benefits of taxes credible. While the English story cannot be replicated it may provide current debates some useful insights.