Sixteen years ago, the African Union launched its African Peer Review Mechanism: a voluntary, non-adversarial exercise designed to improve governance on the continent. Its first decade was a success, but, writes Yarik Turianskyi, interest has waned and doubts persist about African leaders’ commitment to the process.

Developing countries are only able to raise a small share of taxes. This means governments can’t invest in public goods such as health, infrastructure and education. Roberto Ricciuti explains how political systems that place strong constraints on executive power would be more likely to lead to taxation systems that have a higher degree of accountability and transparency than heavy handed measures to enforce compliance.