Rebuilding the Social Compact: Urban Service Delivery and Property Taxes in Pakistan

This project examines how to strengthen the link between property tax collection and local services in urban Punjab, Pakistan. While 85% of all property tax revenue collected currently goes to the local government responsible for such local urban service provision, currently citizens have no sense how much of this (if any) is spent on local services, let alone those services that citizens most desire, nor how marginal increases in revenue would be spent. Additionally, this project will aim to increase the link between taxes paid and local services received by eliciting preferences over local public goods at the time of tax notification and more readily committing local funds to be spent in accordance with these preferences.