Taxation and Capital Flight in Cameroon
Date
2026-02
Authors
DONGMO ZAMKE Jonas Juléo
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AERC
Abstract
This article presents a new facet of the relationship between natural resources and capital flight. The objective of the study is to analyse the role played by regulations on natural resource exploitation in the level of capital flight in Cameroon. This objective allows us to explore the impact of tax reforms on the level of capital flight and, consequently, on the volume of rent derived from natural resource exploitation. An analysis of the historical evolution of Cameroon's tax system and capital flight between 1985 and 2008 has highlighted a series of reforms to the tax system (oil and forestry) that took place in Cameroon in 1999. The synthetic control method developed by Alberto Abadie was used to examine the impact of these reforms on the level of capital flight in Cameroon. The main finding was that improvements to the tax regime for natural resource exploitation led to a substantial average decline in the level of capital flight from the country. In view of this finding, we suggest that the Cameroonian government place particular emphasis on the application of the current tax regime and explore the avenues for optimisation proposed in the rest of the study.