This paper explores whether foreign aid is self-interested, exploiting the timing and size of major mineral discoveries. We first analyze the effect a resource discovery in a two-by-two donor-recipient model with conflict about natural resources, using a contest success function. We then...

This paper explores whether foreign aid is self-interested, exploiting the timing and size of major mineral discoveries. We first analyze the effect a resource discovery in a two-by-two donor-recipient model with conflict about natural resources, using a contest success function. We then...

In the last 60 years, the results of development aid have been mixed. Thus far, it has been mostly the aid recipient countries, which have been held responsible for aid's shortcomings. That focus is misplaced, however, since the donor countries, through development aid, also export some of their...

In the last 60 years, the results of development aid have been mixed. Thus far, it has been mostly the aid recipient countries, which have been held responsible for aid’s shortcomings. That focus is misplaced, however, since the donor countries, through development aid, also export some of...

This paper presents a review of recent studies that estimate the trade effects of foreign aid. It also provides new results obtained using panel data techniques to estimate the direct effects of aid on international trade, accounting for countries' participation in free trade agreements, and the...

This paper presents a review of recent studies that estimate the trade effects of foreign aid. It also provides new results obtained using panel data techniques to estimate the direct effects of aid on international trade, accounting for countries' participation in free trade agreements, and the...

We use a heterogeneous panel VAR model identified through factor analysis to study the dynamic response of exports, imports, and per capita GDP growth to a “global” aid shock. We find that a global aid shock can affect exports, imports, and growth either positively or negatively. As a...

Foreign aid has become closely connected to the development of democracy since the nineties. This paper analyses the democracy effects of aid accounting for this change in donors’ criteria. This approach contributes to the literature by analysing how the kind of donor allocating aid flows...

Aid has been for decades an important source of financing for developing countries, but more recently remittance flows have increased rapidly and are beginning to dwarf aid flows. This paper investigates how remittances affect aid flows, and how this relationship varies depending on the channel...

We examine the cyclical properties of development aid using bilateral data for 22 donors and over 100 recipients during 1970?2005. We find that bilateral aid flows are on average procyclical with respect to business cycles in donor and recipient countries. However, they become countercyclical...

Access to electricity is widely recognized as an essential element of economic development. This paper uses a comprehensive dataset on electrification aid projects to quantify and model the determinants of multilateral and bilateral electrification aid in the last three decades of the 20th...

We analyze the growth impact of official development assistance to developing countries. Our approach is different from that of previous studies in two major ways. First, we disentangle the effects of two kinds of aid: developmental and non-developmental. Second, our specifications allow for the...

Have donors changed their aid-allocation criteria over the past three decades toward greater selectivity, a frequently stated goal of the international development community? Using data on how 22 donors allocated their bilateral aid among 147 countries over 1970–2004, the article finds that...

Foreign aid is given for a combination of economic, political, and humanitarian motives. While its impact on economic development in recipient countries has been the main focus of research recently, we concentrate on the question to what extent it also promotes donor countries’ exports. We...

Aid is given for various purposes. Its impact on donors' exports usually depends on whether it is given for altruistic reasons (to overcome human tragedies and disasters) or in an understanding to promote development (to finance infrastructure or social projects). As to humanitarian aid the...

Foreign aid is given for a combination of economic, political, and humanitarian motives. While its impact on economic development in recipient countries has been the main focus of research recently, we concentrate on the question to what extent it also promotes donor countries’ exports. We...

Aid is given for various purposes. Its impact on donors exports usually depends on whether it is given for altruistic reasons (to overcome human tragedies and disasters) or in an understanding to promote development (to finance infrastructure or social projects). As to humanitarian aid the...

The CFA franc zone has had one of the longest experiences with a fixed exchange rate for a convertible currency and regional integration of any group of developing countries. France, the anchor country, provides aid to support the zone. This paper asks whether the arrangements are more than just...

By reallocating aid to where it is needed most and where a productive use is most likely, donors could help alleviate poverty in developing countries. The rhetoric of donors suggests that this insight has increasingly shaped the allocation of aid. We assess the poverty and policy orientation of...

Using panel data for 143 countries over the period 1973-2002, this paper empirically analyzes the influence of US aid on voting patterns in the UN General Assembly. We use disaggregated aid data to account for the fact that various forms of aid may differ in their ability to induce political...

The paper performs aid allocation analysis using OECD-DAC data covering 20 aid donors and 176 recipients over the period 1980-2003. We improve upon earlier work in this area by employing inter alia the variable ‘past outcome’ measuring aid effectiveness in order to link together aid...

By reallocating aid to where it is needed most and where a productive use is most likely, donors could help alleviate poverty in developing countries. The rhetoric of donors suggests that this insight has increasingly shaped the allocation of aid. We assess the poverty and policy orientation of...

The positive impact of foreign aid is limited by the erratic behavior of aid flows. The introduction in 1999 of various initiatives anchored in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) which were aimed at strengthening coordination among donors, improving the design of financial support...

Using panel data for 143 countries over the period 1973-2002, this paper empirically analyzes the influence of US aid on voting patterns in the UN General Assembly. We use disaggregated aid data to account for the fact that various forms of aid may differ in their ability to induce political...

By reallocating aid to where it is needed most and where a productive use is most likely, donors could help alleviate poverty in developing countries. The rhetoric of donors suggests that this insight has increasingly shaped the allocation of aid. We assess the poverty and policy orientation of...

The volume of foreign aid has increased during the last four decades, albeit with interruptions in certain years. Over time, the major recipients have changed: while the share of aid to Asia has diminished since the 1980s, that destined for sub-Saharan Africa has grown. There is some evidence...

This paper assesses the effectiveness of foreign aid in reducing poverty through its impact on human development indicators. We use a dataset of both bilateral aid and NGO aid flows. Our results show that NGO aid reduces infant mortality and does so more effectively than official bilateral aid....

By reallocating aid to where it is needed most and where a productive use is most likely, donors could help alleviate poverty in developing countries. The rhetoric of donors suggests that this insight has increasingly shaped the allocation of aid. However, we find little evidence supporting the...

By reallocating aid to where it is needed most and where a productive use is most likely, donors could help alleviate poverty in developing countries. The rhetoric of donors suggests that this insight has increasingly shaped the allocation of aid. However, we find little evidence supporting the...

This paper documents trends in official development assistance (ODA) over the last three decades. It examines trends in both aid amounts and the quality of aid. It finds that the real value of ODA has declined during the 1990s following two decades of relative stability. The share of foreign aid...

Official flows account for close to half of capital flows to developing countries, and close to 90 per cent of receipts for Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper documents trends in these official flows over the last three decades. The most striking trend has been declining aid volume. Following two...

This paper identifies the rationale behind the emergence of private sector development (PSD) as a special area of development assistance. It describes PSD policies’ main elements and instruments and provides an overview of the differences and similarities between the PSD activities of...

Official flows account for close to half of capital flows to developing countries, and close to 90 per cent of receipts for Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper documents trends in these official flows over the last three decades. The most striking trend has been declining aid volume. Following two...

The international monetary system is largely the product of negotiations during World War II between U.S. and U.K. officials, led respectively by Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes. The design of the system, especially the International Monetary Fund, reflects the U.S. plan much more...

The aid allocation literature explores the motives behind development aid assistance. This literature is enormous, yet surprisingly, the extant empirical studies have in the main only focused on the motives of established donors. Consequently, relatively little is known of the motives of new...

This article presents a theory of aid as trade. I assume that aid is a payment for an invisible export of strategic services to a large donor country seeking diplomatic goodwill and exclusive strategic use of a small country's territory, oceanic space and airspace. In a formal two countries-two...

Using panel data for 143 countries over the period 1973-2002, this paper empirically analyzes the influence of US aid on voting patterns in the UN General Assembly. We use disaggregated aid data to account for the fact that various forms of aid may differ in their ability to induce political...

This paper investigates empirically how three types of socio-political instability—elite, violent, and social—influence international aid allocation by donors. The results indicate that aid allocation depends on the type of instability (the effect of violent and elite instability is...