Max Gallien

Max Gallien

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This profile is also available in French

Biography

Dr Max Gallien is Research Director of ICTD. His research specialises in the politics of informal and illegal economies, the political economy of the Middle East and North Africa and development politics. He completed his PhD at the London School of Economics. Max co-leads the informality and taxation programme with Vanessa, as well as the ICTD’s capacity building programme.

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Partner Publication

Taxing Informal Workers Fairly to Reduce Inequality and Support Inclusion

September 2024
Nana Akua Anyidoho, Max Gallien, Michael Rogan, Vanessa van den Boogaard

Research in Brief

An Overlooked Market: Loose Cigarettes, Informal Vendors, and Their Implications for Tobacco Taxation

September 2024
Max Gallien, Evert-jan Quak, Giovanni Occhiali, Hana Ross

Working Paper

The Price of Simplicity: Skewed and Regressive Taxation in Accra’s Informal Sector

June 2024
Nana Akua Anyidoho, Max Gallien, Michael Rogan, Vanessa van den Boogaard

Partner Publication

The Politics of Passage: Roadblocks, Taxation and Control in Conflict

June 2024
Peer Schouten, Max Gallien, Shalaka Thakur, Vanessa van den Boogaard, Florian Weigand

Policy Brief

Getting Targets Right: How Much Revenue can Lower-Income Countries Raise?

March 2024
Max Gallien, Adrienne Lees, Giulia Mascagni

Journal Article

Vaccine Hesitancy among Informal Workers: Gendered Geographies of Informality in Lahore

December 2023
Shandana Khan Mohmand, Vanessa van den Boogaard, Max Gallien, Umair Javed
Pakistan’s support for wealth taxes
24 June 2025

Pakistan’s support for wealth taxes

In a context marked by deepening fiscal constraint, wealth taxes offer a potential solution for Pakistan as they have done…
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Ghana’s e-levy: 3 lessons from the abolished mobile money tax
1 April 2025

Ghana’s e-levy: 3 lessons from the abolished mobile money tax

The e-levy’s intense politicisation and complex design made it an interesting case of a wider trend of mobile money taxes…
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Pakistanis are paying over 1.7 billion GBP in zakat every year—mostly to women
26 March 2025

Pakistanis are paying over 1.7 billion GBP in zakat every year—mostly to women

Every year, hundreds of millions of Muslims across the world pay a proportion – broadly 2,5% – of their wealth…

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Reasons to be Optimistic about Tax and the Informal Sector
12 March 2025

Reasons to be Optimistic about Tax and the Informal Sector

There are many reasons to be anxious about the taxation of informal sectors in lower income countries. Classic policy interventions…

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Effective and Equitable Formalisation within the Financing for Development Agenda
29 January 2025

Effective and Equitable Formalisation within the Financing for Development Agenda

Max Gallien argues for key changes to the draft text of the Financing for Development outcome document, given that dominant…
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Three myths on smuggling and taxes
12 June 2024

Three myths on smuggling and taxes

Few topics attract as many myths and misconceptions as smuggling. As an activity that is more frequently encountered through tabloids…

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Can the UK’s new international development strategy support fairer and more effective taxation systems?
28 November 2023

Can the UK’s new international development strategy support fairer and more effective taxation systems?

Last week, the UK government published a new White Paper on International Development which sets out its approach to international…

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Session: Taxation and the informal economy: lessons and best practices

Session: Taxation and the informal economy: lessons and best practices

In person

23 July 2025 – 09:15

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Timezone: Africa/Addis_Ababa

ICTD is organising at the 2025 ATI General Assembly a technical session on taxation and the informal economy.
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Workshop: Tax and Informal Economies in Africa: Charting Ways Forward

Workshop: Tax and Informal Economies in Africa: Charting Ways Forward

In person

18 February 2025 – 09:00

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Timezone: Europe/London

Akosombo, Ghana
ICTD is hosting a focused workshop in Akosombo, Ghana from 18th to 21st February 2024 that seeks to chart new ways forward in how revenue authorities engage with informal economies.
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Panel: Beyond the money: How tax policies are shaping politics and society in Africa

Panel: Beyond the money: How tax policies are shaping politics and society in Africa

Virtual

12 September 2024 – 15:00

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Timezone: Europe/London

This interactive panel will discuss the relationship between taxes and trust in the state, elections and public mobilisation, informality, and gendered social relations.
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23 October 2026

Max Gallien, Vanessa van den Boogaard pen letter to the editor at FT

Research Director Max Gallien and Senior Research Fellow Vanessa van den Boogaard, co-leads of ICTD’s Informality and Tax programme, wrote…

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Max Gallien, Vanessa van den Boogaard, and external author Umair Javed pen op-ed on support for wealth taxes in Pakistan
23 June 2025

Max Gallien, Vanessa van den Boogaard, and external author Umair Javed pen op-ed on support for wealth taxes in Pakistan

ICTD Research Fellows Max Gallien and Vanessa van den Boogaard, co-leads of the Centre’s Informality and Taxation programme, along with…
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Max Gallien, Vanessa van den Boogaard, and Umair Javed pen op-ed on Zakat work
29 April 2025

Max Gallien, Vanessa van den Boogaard, and Umair Javed pen op-ed on Zakat work

ICTD Research Fellows Max Gallien and Vanessa van den Boogaard along with Umair Javed, pen an op-ed on the Dawn…
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Max Gallien, Martin Hearson, and Mary Abounabhan reflect on Ghana's scrapped e-levy on The Conversation Africa
31 March 2025

Max Gallien, Martin Hearson, and Mary Abounabhan reflect on Ghana’s scrapped e-levy on The Conversation Africa

ICTD researchers Max Gallien, Martin Hearson, and Mary Abounabhan wrote a piece for The Conversation Africa on the lessons learned…

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ICTD study on zakat garners media attention as Ramadan concludes
31 March 2025

ICTD study on zakat garners media attention as Ramadan concludes

ICTD’s work on zakat, led by Informality and Tax co-leads Max Gallien and Vanessa van den Boogaard, along with Umair…

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VoxDev blog cites ICTD research
17 February 2025

VoxDev blog cites ICTD research

A blog on improving tax payments in Liberia by World Bank economist Oyebola Okunogbe on VoxDev references two ICTD-produced research….
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