Max Gallien

Max Gallien

Linkedin Google-scholar-brands-solid-full Facebook X-twitter

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.

Share

Research in Brief

Mobile Money Taxation and Informal Workers: Evidence from Ghana’s E-Levy

September 2023
Nana Akua Anyidoho, Max Gallien, Michael Rogan, Vanessa van den Boogaard

Research in Brief

Beyond Greed: Why Armed Groups Tax

August 2023
Tanya Bandula-Irwin, Max Gallien, Ashley Jackson, Vanessa van den Boogaard, Florian Weigand

Research in Brief

Between God, the People, and the State: Citizen Conceptions of Zakat

August 2023
Max Gallien, Umair Javed, Vanessa van den Boogaard

Research in Brief

Rethinking Formalisation: A Conceptual Critique and Research Agenda

August 2023
Max Gallien, Vanessa van den Boogaard

Research in Brief

Zakat, Non-State Welfare Provision and Redistribution in Times of Crisis: Evidence from the Covid-19 Pandemic

August 2023
Max Gallien, Umair Javed, Vanessa van den Boogaard

Research in Brief

Catch Them If You Can: The Politics and Practice of a Taxpayer Registration Exercise

August 2023
Max Gallien, Giovanni Occhiali, Vanessa van den Boogaard
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…
Read more
Read more
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…
Read more
Read more
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…

Read more
Read more
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…

Read more
Read more
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…
Read more
Read more
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…

Read more
Read more
Group photo of the 2026 cohort of the ICTD tax course
28 September 2026

Congratulations to the 2026 cohort of ICTD’s tax research course for completing in-person module

Last week, 19 of the participants in ICTD’s Research on Tax and Development course successfully completed the final in-person module…

Read more
Read more
ICTD partners with ATI to advance evidence-based approaches to tax and informality
3 September 2026

ICTD partners with ATI to advance evidence-based approaches to tax and informality

The International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) and the Addis Tax Initiative (ATI) have joined forces to advance evidence-based…
Read more
Read more
ICTD suspends flagship course on Research on Tax and Development
17 August 2026

ICTD suspends flagship course on Research on Tax and Development

ICTD will not be running its flagship Research on Tax and Development course, due to start in autumn 2026. The…
Read more
Read more
ICTD secures $1m from Founders Pledge to support collaborative research to strengthen tax administration
6 August 2026

ICTD secures $1m from Founders Pledge to support collaborative research to strengthen tax administration

The International Centre for Tax and Development has secured US$1 million from Founders Pledge to fund a new three-year programme…
Read more
Read more
From Afghanistan to Venezuela, new research shows how roadblocks shape governance and everyday life in conflict contexts
20 July 2026

From Afghanistan to Venezuela, new research shows how roadblocks shape governance and everyday life in conflict contexts

A new special issue in the leading development studies journal Development and Change puts roadblock politics squarely on the academic…
Read more
Read more
ICTD convenes stakeholder workshop on informal taxation in The Gambia
28 April 2026

ICTD convenes stakeholder workshop on informal taxation in The Gambia

Earlier this month, ICTD convened a stakeholder workshop in collaboration with The Gambia’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs to…
Read more
Read more
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

•

Timezone: Africa/Addis_Ababa

ICTD is organising at the 2025 ATI General Assembly a technical session on taxation and the informal economy.
Read more
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

•

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.
Read more
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

•

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.
Read more
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…

Read more
Read more
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…
Read more
Read more
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…
Read more
Read more
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…

Read more
Read more
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…

Read more
Read more
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….
Read more
Read more