What We Miss By Missing Data: Aid Effectiveness Revisited

Missing data is a major problem in empirical development economics, as it may entail efficiency losses as well as biased results. This is an issue within the literature that investigates the effect of foreign aid on welfare. Using multiple imputation techniques, we address these problems and find lower aid effectiveness than previous studies suggest. In addition, imputation allows for comparison of different welfare indicators within the same framework. We find that if aid effectiveness is evaluated based on such indicators, the respective indicator choice can matter for the results.