Tax Reform and Public Revenue Instability in Developing Countries: Does the Volatility of Development Aid Matter?

Abstract This paper examines the relationship between tax transition reform, development aid volatility, and public revenue instability in developing countries. Empirical findings show that tax reform exerts a negative effect on tax revenue instability, and the magnitude of this negative effect diminishes as the degree of development aid volatility increases. Specifically, beyond a certain level of development aid volatility, tax reform enhances tax revenue instability. Overall, these findings suggest that higher development aid flows to developing countries should be accompanied by a lower aid volatility so as to ensure that tax reform would generate lower tax revenue instability in recipient countries. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.