An Empirical Analysis of the Determinants of Foreign Aid: A Panel Approach

  • Abdiweli M. Ali
  • Hodan Said Isse
Article

Abstract

This paper uses a panel approach to examine the determinants of foreign aid. It examines the extent to which taxes on international trade and the scope of government activities, ethnicity, private credit, and education determine foreign aid. The paper specifies and estimates a model that explains the allocation of foreign aid among 151 countries over the period 1975 to 1998. The key empirical finding suggests that Taxes on Trade increases foreign aid dependency. Moreover, trade, private credit, foreign direct investment, GDP per worker, and government consumption are important determinants of foreign aid. The factors that appear to decrease foreign aid include: Years of schooling, private credit, trade, and GDP per worker. The factors that appear to increase foreign aid include: Taxes on international trade, ethnicity, and government consumption.

JEL

O11 O47 P51 

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Adam, C. S.; O'Connell, S. A. “Aid, Taxation and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Economics and Politics, 11, 1999, pp. 19–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Alesina, A.; Easterly, W; Baqir, R. Public Goods and Ethnic Divisions. World Bank, Mimeo, 1996.Google Scholar
  3. Bates, R. “Government and Agricultural Market in Africa,” In: Johnson, D. G., Schuh, E. The Role of Markets in the World Food Economy, Boulder, Colorado: WestView, 1983.Google Scholar
  4. Bates, R. Ethnicity, Capital Formation, and Conflict. CID Working Paper No.27, 1999, pp. 1–50.Google Scholar
  5. Bauer, P. T. Dissent on Development: Studies and Debated in Development Economics, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1972.Google Scholar
  6. Bhalla, A. S.; Bhalla, P. Regional Block: Building Block or Stumbling Block, London: Macmillan, 1997.Google Scholar
  7. Booth, A. “Survey of Recent Development,” Bulletin of Indonesian Economics Studies, 24, 1998, pp. 1–26.Google Scholar
  8. Cashel-Cordo, P.; Craig, S. “Donor Preferences and Recipient Fiscal Behavior: A Simultaneous Analysis of Foreign Aid Fungibility and the Flypaper Effect,” Manuscript, Canisius College, Buffalo, New York 14208, 1992.Google Scholar
  9. Collier, P. “Africa's External Relationship, 1960–91,” African Affairs, 90, 1991, pp. 339–356.Google Scholar
  10. Easterly, W.; Levine, R. “Africa's Growth Tragedy: Policies and Ethnic Divisions,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, CXII (4), 1997, pp. 1203–1250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Friedman, M. “Foreign Economic Aid: Means and Objectives,” Yale Law Review, 47, 1958, pp. 24–38.Google Scholar
  12. Krauss, M. How Nations Grow Rich: The Case for Free Trade, New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.Google Scholar
  13. Krueger, A. “The Political Economy of the Rent Seeking Society,” American Economic Review, 64 (3), 1974, pp. 291–303.Google Scholar
  14. Krueger, A. “Virtuous and Vicious Circles in Economic Development,” American Economic Review, 83 (2), 1993, pp. 351–355.Google Scholar
  15. Laffont, J.; Guessan, T. N. “Competition and Corruption in an Agency Relationship,” Journal of Development Economics, 60, 1999, pp. 271–295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. Lal, D. The Poverty of Development Economics, London: The Institute of Economic Affairs, 1997.Google Scholar
  17. Landes, D. The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why some are so Rich and some so Poor, New York: Norton, 1998.Google Scholar
  18. Leon, R. S. Mexico, Markets and Multilateral Aid, In: Bandow, D., Vasquez, I. Perpetuating Poverty, the World Bank, IMF, and the Developing World, Washington, District of Columbia: Cato Institute, 1994.Google Scholar
  19. Mohammed, S.; Whalley, J. “Rent Seeking in India: Its Costs and Policy Significance.” Kyklos, 37, 1984, pp. 387–413.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. Niskanen, W. “Bureaucrats and Politicians,” Journal of Law and Economics, 19, 1976, pp. 617–643.Google Scholar
  21. North, D. Structure and Change in Economic History, New York: Norton, 1981.Google Scholar
  22. North, D. “A Transaction Cost Theory of Politics,” Journal of Theoretical Politics, 100 (4), 1990, pp. 355–367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Ross, V. B. Rent Seeking in LDC Imports Regimes: The Case of Kenya. Discussion Papers in International Economics, No. 8408, Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, 1984.Google Scholar
  24. Rowley, C. K. “Political Culture and Economic Performance in sub-Saharan Africa,” Working Paper, 1998.Google Scholar
  25. Shleifer, A.; Vishny R. “Corruption,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 108 (3), 1993, pp. 599–617.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  26. Svensson, J. Collision Among Interest Groups: Foreign Aid and Rent Dissipation. World Bank, Mimeo, 1996.Google Scholar
  27. Yano, M.; Nugent, J. “The Transfer Paradox in Small Countries,” American Economic Review, 89 (3), 1999, pp. 431–449.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2006

Authors and Affiliations

  • Abdiweli M. Ali
    • 1
  • Hodan Said Isse
    • 2
  1. 1.Niagara UniversityNew YorkU.S.A.
  2. 2.SUNY at BuffaloBuffaloU.S.A.

Personalised recommendations