Individuals in low-income countries often contribute significantly to financing local public goods through informal taxation. However, there is limited understanding of how informal revenue generation relates to formal tax and governing institutions. We explore the relationship between informal revenue generation, public finance, and the state in the Gedo region in south-central Somalia, relying on original data from surveys with 2,300 households and 117 community leaders. Our evidence shows that informal revenue generation by non-armed actors in Gedo is prevalent, with informal payments deeply embedded within clan-based and Islamic institutions and rooted in a long history of decentralized political authority and self-reliance in the region. We argue that in such a context, rather than explaining how or why things ‘work’ outside of the state, it may be more relevant and valuable to consider decentralized non-state public authority as the default referent, with a need only to explain the puzzle of pockets of state effectiveness. Governance largely operates outside the state, with citizens playing a pivotal role in directly financing local governance institutions and public goods provision. These findings have important implications for our understanding of statehood and public finance in contexts of weak formal institutions.

中文翻译：

---

国家以外的融资治理：索马里中南部的非正式创收

低收入国家的个人通常通过非正式税收为当地公共产品融资做出重大贡献。然而，人们对非正规创收与正规税收和治理机构之间的关系了解有限。我们依靠对 2,300 户家庭和 117 位社区领袖进行的调查的原始数据，探讨了索马里中南部盖多地区的非正式创收、公共财政和国家之间的关系。我们的证据表明，在盖多，非武装行为者的非正式创收很普遍，非正式支付深深植根于宗族和伊斯兰机构，并植根于该地区分散的政治权力和自力更生的悠久历史。我们认为，在这样的背景下，与其解释事物如何或为什么在国家之外“运作”，将分散的非国家公共权力视为默认参照物可能更相关和更有价值，只需解释国家有效性的难题。治理主要在州外进行，公民在直接为地方治理机构和公共产品提供融资方面发挥着关键作用。这些发现对我们在正规机构薄弱的情况下理解国家地位和公共财政具有重要意义。