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This paper examines how temporary migration to a different ethnic region affects national integration. It uses original survey data from individuals who were randomly exposed to different ethnic regions of Nigeria during their mandatory national service, the largest program of its kind in Africa. Comparing participants who served in a state where they are the ethnic majority to those who served in a state where they are not indicates two concurrent effects. First, interethnic exposure creates a stronger connection to the country as a whole: exposed participants have greater national pride and more positive attitudes about Nigeria, they are more knowledgeable about other parts of the country, and they are four times as likely to be living outside their ethnic region seven years later. Second, consistent with social identity theory, immersion in a different ethnic region highlights distinctions between groups and reinforces participants' connection to their ethnic group: exposed participants have more positive attitudes toward their own ethnic group, but not others, and are more likely to have all their closest friends from their ethnic group.

Diversity --- Interethnic Relations --- Intergroup Exposure --- Internal Migration --- Nation Building --- National Integration --- National Service --- Poverty Reduction --- Social Analysis --- Social Development

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Many e-government initiatives introduce technology to improve efficiency and avoid potential human bias. Electronic tax filing (e-filing) is an important example, as developing countries increasingly adopt online submission of tax declarations to replace in-person submission to tax officials. This paper examines the impact of e-filing on compliance costs, tax payments, and bribe payments using experimental variation and data from Tajikistan firms. Firms that e-file have lower compliance costs, spending five fewer hours each month on fulfilling tax obligations. There are no significant average effects of e-filing on tax or bribe payments, but significant heterogeneity exists across firms by their baseline likelihood of tax evasion. Among firms previously more likely to evade, e-filing doubles tax payments, likely by disrupting collusion with officials. Conversely, among firms less likely to have been evading, e-filing reduces tax payments, suggesting that officials had previously required them to pay more. These firms also pay fewer bribes, as e-filing reduces opportunity for extortion. In all, the results indicate that e-filing reduces compliance costs and makes the distribution of tax payments across firms arguably more equitable.

Corruption --- De Facto Governments --- Democratic Government --- E-Government --- Economic Adjustment and Lending --- Electronic Tax Filing (E-Filing) --- Governance --- International Economics and Trade --- International Trade and Trade Rules --- Law and Development --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Public Sector Development --- Tax Law --- Taxation --- Taxation and Subsidies --- Technology

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Many African countries struggle to collect an adequate amount of tax revenue to support needed investments in public services. This paper examines how African countries may take advantage of recent advances in technology to improve tax administration. It provides an overview of the potential and challenges of different tax categories in Africa: consumption taxes, real estate taxes, trade taxes, and income taxes. It then describes the ways in which technology solutions may be deployed to address these challenges by helping to identify the tax base, monitor compliance, and facilitate compliance. Lastly, it provides insights from interviews with senior tax administrators across the continent on their practical experiences in adopting technology for taxation.

Economic development. --- Development economics.