Export product diversification and tax performance quality in developing countries

Abstract

The current analysis proposes a definition and a measure of the ‘quality of tax performance’, and examines how export product diversification influences tax performance quality in developing countries. Using a sample of 115 developing countries over the period 1981–2014, the empirical exercise shows that export product diversification induces higher quality of tax performance. Furthermore, less developed countries (for example, low-income countries) enjoy a higher positive effect of export product diversification on the quality of tax performance than relatively advanced developing countries. These findings have important policy implications. In particular, they show that while policies for promoting export product diversification are not pure fiscal and tax administration-related measures, they do influence positively the quality of tax performance in developing countries.