Topics: Sustainable development, international and European governance, economics and (good) governance.
Disciplines: Law, Political Science, International Political Economy, International Relations.
Other skills: Public speaking, Leadership, presenting.
Admission requirements:
This course is an (extracurricular) Honours Class: an elective course within the Honours College programme. Third year students who don’t participate in the Honours College, have the opportunity to apply for a Bachelor Honours Class. Students will be selected based on i.a. their motivation and average grade.
Description:
The overall aim of this course is to analyse how international actors intervene in the discussion of global inequality and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, by using the case of taxation.
Governments and internationals organizations as international actors are building new initiatives to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. One field where these initiatives have clearly emerged is in the field of taxation since tax revenue can be used to provide public services (health, education, etc.) and therefore to alleviate poverty and to tackle global inequality.
In this course, we look at the evolution of global tax governance and draw a map of the international actors that have a stake in the international sphere, focusing particularly on the challenges faced by developing countries. We also ask more generally what the purpose of international tax policy making is within the broader ‘2030 Sustainable Development Agenda’.
This course will address the role of:
Political fora (G7, G20, G24, G77);
International tax organizations (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD, International Monetary Fund IMF, World Bank WB, and the United Nations UN);
Regional organizations (EU, African Union, African Taks Administration Forum, Asian Development Bank, etc.);
Civil society (NGOs).
This course welcomes interaction between different areas of law, public policy and international relations.
Course Objectives:
Upon successful completion of this course, students will:
Research, exercise public speaking, leadership, presenting, academic writing, social skills (cooperation, working in groups):
Students will gain:
a basic understanding of how international actors (civil society, international and regional organizations, political fora) intervene in the discussion of the Sustainable Development Goals;
understanding on he basic ideas on taxation and linkage of taxes to different SDGs;
understanding on how tax and fiscal policies can be leveraged by the governments to achieve the SDGs.
Programme and timetable:
This class will take place on Thursdays from 17:15-19:30. teh exact dates will be announced later.
The detailed course overview will be shared on Brightspace.
The following topics will be covered in the class:
Session 1:
Contextualizing Tax, Governance and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda
Session 2:
Role of countries and political forums (G7, G20, G24, G77);
Session 3:
Role of the International Organizations (OECD, World Bank, IMF and the United Nations
Session 4:
Role of the NGOs (civil society)
Session 5:
Regional organizations (EU, African Union)
Session 6:
Presentation by students
Session 7: (spare session)
Deadline final assignment: January 15, 2025
Location:
TBA
Reading list:
In outline (some) examples of literature that will be used in this course. Provisionally, subject to change:
Taxation, International Cooperation and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Eds. I.J. Mosquera, D. Lesage and W. Lips. United Nations University Series on Regionalism. Springer Publications. 2021. Open access. Link https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030648565
Christensen Rasmus, M. Hearson and T. Randriamanalina. 2020. At the Table, Off the Menu? Assessing the Participation of Lower-Income Countries in Global Tax Negotiations. ICTD Working Paper 115. Institute of Development Studies, Brighton. [Link]
Keohane, Robert O. 2011. Global governance and legitimacy. Review of International Political Economy 18 (1). Routledge: 99–109. [Link]
Hearson Martin. (2021) Imposing Standards: The North-South Dimension to Global Tax Politics, New York: Cornell University Press. [Link]
Mason, Ruth. (2020). The Transformation of International Tax. American Journal of International Law, 114(3), 353–402. [Link]
Hearson, Martin. “Transnational Expertise and the Expansion of the International Tax Regime: Imposing ‘Acceptable’ Standards.” Review of International Political Economy, 2018, 1–25. [Link]
Rixen, Thomas. “From Double Tax Avoidance to Tax Competition: Explaining the Institutional Trajectory of International Tax Governance.” Review of International Political Economy 18, no. 2 (2011): 197–227. [Link]
Moore, Mick, Wilson Prichard, and Odd-Helge Fjeldstad. Taxing Africa: Coercion, Reform and Development. London: Zed Books Ltd., 2018. [Chapter 3 and Chapter 4]
Murphy-Gregory, Hannah, and Aynsley Kellow. “Forum Shopping and Global Governance.” In Rethinking International Institutions: Diplomacy and Impact on Emerging World Order, edited by Wilhelm Hofmeister and Jan Melissen, 39–50. Singapore / The Hague: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung / Clingendael, 2016. [Link]
Ring, Diane (2009). Who is Making International Tax Policy: International Organizations as Power Players in a High Stakes World. Fordham Int’l LJ, 33, 649. [Link]
Other possible literature will be announced in class or via Brightspace.
Course load and teaching method:
This course is worth 5 ECTS, which means the total course load equals 140 hours:
Seminars: 7 seminars of 3 hours = 21 hours
Literature reading: 6 hours/week = 42 hours
Memorandum and presentation = 42 hours
Policy brief = 35 hours
Presence and participation is mandatory
Assessment methods:
One memorandum: 40% (topic and deadline TBA.)
Presentation of the memorandum: 20%
Policy brief: 40% (topic and deadline TBA.)
NB: For the memorandum, presentation and policy brief, students will work in a group (2 to 3 students) to ensure the exchange of ideas in the project and (also) the cooperation between students of different disciplines.
Students can only pass this course after successful completion of all partial exams.
The assessment methods will be further explained in the first session of the class.
Brightspace and uSis:
Brightspace will be used in this course. Upon admission students will be enrolled in Brightspace by the teaching administration.
Please note: students are not required to register through uSis for the Bachelor Honours Classes. Your registration will be done centrally.
Application process:
Submitting an application for this course is possible from Monday 19 August 2024 up to and including Tuesday 7 September 2024 23:59 through the link on the Honours Academy student website.
Note: students don’t have to register for the Bachelor Honours Classes in uSis. The registration is done centrally before the start of the class.
Contact:
Dr. I.J.Mosquera Valderrama: i.j.mosquera.valderrama@law.leidenuniv.nl
Professor Tax Governance, EU Jean Monnet Chair on EU Tax Governance, and Lead Researcher ERC GLOBTAXGOV Project - Leiden Law School.