Paper short abstract:

This paper draws on novel public opinion data to examine how improvements in services delivery have affected Lagosians' attitudes toward government and their willingness to pay tax.

Paper long abstract:

Significant changes in taxation and services delivery have occurred in some Nigerian cities over the past ten years. The most visible reforms have been undertaken by charismatic governors in Lagos and Cross Rivers states: in both states, there have been dramatic increases in tax revenue collected, in the visible delivery of basic services (roads, clinics, etc.), and in public support for taxation. In Lagos State, these reforms were partly fueled by the need to raise revenue. Federal transfers were suspended in 2003 after the sitting governor refused to rescind his establishment of new local government areas. The state government responded by stating that it would find a way of funding itself via tax revenues, and, surprisingly, state government investments in tax collection paid off handsomely with more than a ten-fold increase in tax revenue by 2007. In Lagos State, the initial improvements in revenue collection have coincided with visible expansion of social services, even in slums and marginal areas. Public attitudes toward the government and toward taxation have also altered. Lagosians express higher degrees of government approval and greater support for tax payment than other Nigerians. This paper draws on novel public opinion data collected in Lagos slums, as well as a more representative state sample, to examine how differences across localities shape ordinary Lagosians' attitudes toward the state. This ties to the panel's main concern in urban governance by suggesting that popular responses to policy interventions are mediated by differences in local governance and the characteristics of local communities.