Volatility widens inequality. Could aid and remittances help

Abstract We analyse the relationship between income volatility and inequality and the conditional role played by aid and remittances. Using a panel of 142 countries for the period 1973–2012, we confirm a well-established finding among the literature that income volatility has an adverse impact on inequality, and that the poorest people are the most exposed to these fluctuations. However, while aid and remittances do not seem to have a clear direct impact on inequality, we uncover robust evidence that suggests that aid helps dampen the negative effects of volatility on the distribution of income, while remittances do not.