The South African Revenue Service and National Treasury Firm-Level Panel is an unbalanced panel data set created by merging several sources of administrative tax data received during 2015. The four data sources that constitute the panel are: (i) company income tax from registered firms who submit tax forms; (ii) employee data from employee income tax certificates submitted by employers; (iii) value-added tax data from registered firms; and (iv) customs records from traders. These data sets constitute a significant and unique source for the study of firm-level behaviour in post-apartheid South Africa. We review the key data sources used to construct the panel, highlight some important questions that arise as a result of panel construction, discuss the biases in the resulting data, compare key aggregates in the panel to other data sources, and provide a descriptive overview of the tax records. JEL Classification: C55, C80

Many South African children experience maltreatment, but we know little about the effects on long-term child development. Using the only representative dataset that includes a module on childhood maltreatment for a metropolitan city in South Africa, we explore the association between different measures of childhood maltreatment and two educational outcomes (numeracy test scores and dropout). Our study provides an estimate of the association between childhood maltreatment and educational outcomes in a developing country where maltreatment is high. We control for potential confounders using a range of statistical techniques and add several robustness checks to evaluate the strength of our findings. Our results indicate that children who are maltreated suffer large adverse consequences in terms of their numeracy test scores and probability of dropout and that the estimated effects of maltreatment are larger and more consistent for the most severe type of maltreatment.

The South African Revenue Service and National Treasury Firm-Level Panel is an unbalanced panel data set created by merging several sources of administrative tax data received during 2015. The four data sources that constitute the panel are: (i) company income tax from registered firms who submit tax forms; (ii) employee data from employee income tax certificates submitted by employers; (iii) value-added tax data from registered firms; and (iv) customs records from traders. These data sets constitute a significant and unique source for the study of firm-level behaviour in post-apartheid South Africa. We review the key data sources used to construct the panel, highlight some important questions that arise as a result of panel construction, discuss the biases in the resulting data, compare key aggregates in the panel to other data sources, and provide a descriptive overview of the tax records.

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.