The fiscal history of Ethiopia is reviewed in this paper, focusing particularly on the period between 1960 and 2010. The detailed fiscal data is available to underpin the analysis. While reviewing the key fiscal and economic events of this period, particular attention is paid to the relation between Ethiopia and its donors, which in fiscal terms can be seen as a relation between mobilizing own tax revenue while negotiating aid and the conditions attached to it. While looking at the main drivers and constraints to tax revenue mobilization in this period, the paper explores the role that aid and donors have played, and how this historical background influences Ethiopia today.
