Value-added taxation and Economic Efficiency : Evidence from Tunisian Experience

Value-added taxation and Economic Efficiency : Evidence from Tunisian Experience | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Value-added taxation and Economic Efficiency : Evidence from Tunisian Experience Safa Meddeb, Marcel Voia, Patrick Villieu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8347823/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Economic theory suggests that the value-added tax (VAT) is an efficient taxation system, which largely explains its rapid adoption across the world. However, there is no empirical evidence confirming this prediction in the case of Tunisia, and only a few studies exist for developing countries. In this study, we estimate the efficiency gains from the introduction of VAT using the synthetic control method. These results indicate that VAT has a positive and economically significant effect on economic efficiency, although the magnitude of this effect remains modest. These findings are robust across a range of placebo tests and sensitivity analyses. Value-Added Tax Tunisia Synthetic Control Method Economic Efficiency. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8347823","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":574145837,"identity":"a83d5f7c-15a6-4501-ba46-699de54f1767","order_by":0,"name":"Safa Meddeb","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA9UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACxgdgsuEAD+NjsAAzcwMBLcwGMC3MxgwMQA4zI/Fa2KTBWhgIaJFvP8z4gTHHRrbveO+x6oKKP9H87UAtPyq24dRicCaZWYJxW5rxzDPn0m7POGOQO+MwYwNjz5nbuLUw5B8AajmcuOFGjtlt3jaD3AagFmbGNtxa5PsfM/9g3PY/ccP9N2bFIC3zCWlhuJHMBrTlANAWHjNmkJYNhLQY3HjMZsG4LRnol7xkaZ4zxrkbgVoO4vOLfH8y8w3GbXbAEDt78DNPhVzuvPOHDz74UYHHYUDA/Add5ABe9aNgFIyCUTAKCAIAk8lcv+weaTIAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Laboratoire d’Économie d’Orléans","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Safa","middleName":"","lastName":"Meddeb","suffix":""},{"id":574145839,"identity":"276f427c-2376-457f-b162-533f20c04a95","order_by":1,"name":"Marcel Voia","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Laboratoire d’Économie d’Orléans","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Marcel","middleName":"","lastName":"Voia","suffix":""},{"id":574145841,"identity":"6d570c88-3939-45d8-9595-f1cdaa11446c","order_by":2,"name":"Patrick Villieu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Laboratoire d’Économie d’Orléans","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Patrick","middleName":"","lastName":"Villieu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-12-12 17:08:14","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8347823/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8347823/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":101943219,"identity":"052fe9ce-0cb1-4afa-8790-ca1dd5bfcde8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-05 09:41:12","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1961352,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"PaperInternationaltaxandpublicfinance.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8347823/v1_covered_f8fbe9c4-dd53-46cb-b0a0-0b52f8cf4867.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Value-added taxation and Economic Efficiency : Evidence from Tunisian Experience ","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":true,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Value-Added Tax, Tunisia, Synthetic Control Method, Economic Efficiency.","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8347823/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8347823/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eEconomic theory suggests that the value-added tax (VAT) is an efficient taxation system, which largely explains its rapid adoption across the world. 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