Building durable fiscal capacity requires that the state obtains compliance with its tax demands,
a struggle for weak states that lack enforcement capacity. One potential option
for governments in weak states is to enhance their legitimacy and thereby foster voluntary
compliance. In this study, we report results from a participatory budgeting policy experiment
in Sierra Leone that attempted to increase legitimacy and tax compliance by inviting
public participation in local policy decision-making. In phone-based town halls, participants
shared policy preferences with neighbors and local politicians and then voted for
local public services that were subsequently implemented. We find that the intervention
durably increased participants’ perceptions of government legitimacy. However, against
influential models of tax compliance, we find a robust null effect on tax compliance behavior.
In exploratory analyses, we document that partisan affiliation strongly conditions the
interventions’ effects on tax compliance and attitudes towards paying taxes.