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Person

Max Gallien

Max Gallien

Research Fellow

Max Gallien is a political scientist specialising in the political economy of development, particularly the politics of taxation and of informal and illegal economies.

Max is an IDS Research Fellow in the Governance cluster and with the International Centre for Taxation and Development (ICTD) where he leads the research programme on informality and taxation with Vanessa van den Boogaard, alongside the ICTD’s teaching and learning programme.

His book “Smugglers and States – Negotiating the Maghreb at its Margins” (Columbia 2024) recently won the Theodore J. Lowi First Book Award, awarded jointly by the American Political Science Association (APSA) and International Political Science Association (IPSA). He is also the co-editor of the “Routledge Handbook of Smuggling“. Max holds a PhD from the London School of Economics, and an MPhil from the University of Oxford.

Languages: German (native), English (fluent), French (advanced), and Arabic (intermediate)

Projects

Programme & Centres

Opinions

Opinion

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

The first budget speech of Ghana’s new government on 11 March painted a picture of an economy in crisis, facing high debt and fiscal mismanagement. The finance minister, Cassiel Ato Forson, acknowledged that key International Monetary Fund performance targets would be missed and announced...

Max Gallien
Max Gallien & 2 others

15 April 2025

Opinion

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encountered through tabloids and crime dramas than academic research, public perceptions are often dramatised and outdated. At the same time, how we think about smuggling influences how we...

13 June 2024

Publications

Working Paper

Thinking Beyond Revenue: Estimating the Cost Effectiveness of Ghana’s Presumptive Tax Stamp

ICTD Working Paper 233

As governments in lower-income countries confront tight fiscal space, rising service demands, and large informal sectors, knowing the true costs and returns of commonly used simplified or presumptive taxes is essential to building equitable and effective revenue systems. This paper provides the...

8 December 2025

Brief

Why the Informal Sector Is Not a Tax Goldmine

ICTD Policy Brief 20

The promise of untapped revenue is a much-repeated argument for more aggressive and broader taxation of informal economies. Referencing the large size of informal sectors and uncaptured income, as well as limited revenues generated from informal sector specific tax handles, the argument suggests...

27 October 2025

Max Gallien’s recent work

Past Event

Towards a digital tax administration: lessons learnt and directions for reform

Governments across the African continent are investing heavily in digital transformation and have made huge progress in the past decade. Many core functions such as tax filing and payment are fully digitised in many contexts. The development of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) has been key to...

From 12 December 2024 until 13 December 2024

Past Event

Book launch: Smugglers and States

We are thrilled to host the launch for the book Smugglers and States, with an introduction by its author Max Gallien, followed by a drinks reception. Watch now https://youtu.be/0FWfe5rBxhw?si=2lOkA3QZMkb_xGrs&t=86 Smuggling is typically thought of as furtive and hidden, taking place under...

21 March 2024

Past Event

Book Launch: The Routledge Handbook of Smuggling

We are thrilled to officially launch the 'Routledge Handbook of Smuggling' with an introduction by its editors, some of its authors, and a discussion of key issues in the contemporary study of smuggling. Watch the video now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6rYAlNAGnk Listen to the audio...

3 May 2022