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A Meta-Analysis of Aid Effectiveness: Revisiting the Evidence

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  • Tseday Jemaneh Mekasha

    (Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen, Denmark)

  • Finn Tarp

    (Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen, Denmark)

Abstract

As research on the empirical link between aid and growth continues to grow, it is time to revisit the accumulated evidence on aid effectiveness. This paper extends previous meta-analyses, noting that the availability of more data enables us to conduct a sub-group analysis by disaggregating the sample into different time horizons and assess if there are temporal shifts in aid effectiveness. The new and updated results show that the earlier reported positive evidence of aid’s impact is robust to the inclusion of more recent studies and this holds for different time horizons as well. The authenticity of the observed effect is also confirmed by results from funnel plots, regression-based tests, and a cumulative meta-analysis for publication bias.

Suggested Citation

  • Tseday Jemaneh Mekasha & Finn Tarp, 2019. "A Meta-Analysis of Aid Effectiveness: Revisiting the Evidence," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(2), pages 5-28.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v:7:y:2019:i:2:p:5-28
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    Cited by:

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    2. Simon Feeny & Paul Hansen & Stephen Knowles & Mark McGillivray & Franz Ombler, 2019. "Donor motives, public preferences and the allocation of UK foreign aid: a discrete choice experiment approach," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 155(3), pages 511-537, August.
    3. Muhammad Athar Nadeem & Zhiying Liu & Haji Suleman Ali & Amna Younis & Muhammad Bilal & Yi Xu, 2020. "Innovation and Sustainable Development: Does Aid and Political Instability Impede Innovation?," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(4), pages 21582440209, November.
    4. Tseday Jemaneh Mekasha & Finn Tarp, 2019. "A Meta-Analysis of Aid Effectiveness: Revisiting the Evidence," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(2), pages 5-28.
    5. Alonso José Antonio, 2018. "Development Cooperation to Ensure that none be Left Behind," Journal of Globalization and Development, De Gruyter, vol. 9(2), pages 1-21, December.
    6. Ziyoda Asatullaeva & Reza Fathollah Zadeh Aghdam & Nisar Ahmad & Laylo Tashpulatova, 2021. "The impact of foreign aid on economic development: A systematic literature review and content analysis of the top 50 most influential papers," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(4), pages 717-751, May.
    7. Shaomeng Jia & Claudia R. Williamson, 2019. "Aid, Policies, And Growth: Why So Much Confusion?," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 37(4), pages 577-599, October.
    8. Muhammad Arshad & Sana Hameed Pasha & Naeem Akram & Nadia Hussain, 2023. "Estimating aggregate economic rate of return to foreign aid in Pakistan," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(6), pages 1-19, June.
    9. Mandon, Pierre & Woldemichael, Martha Tesfaye, 2023. "Has Chinese aid benefited recipient countries? Evidence from a meta-regression analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    10. Jamelia Harris, 2021. "Foreign aid, human capital accumulation and the potential implications for growth," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 549-579, July.
    11. Haldar, Anasuya & Sethi, Narayan, 2022. "Effect of sectoral foreign aid allocation on growth and structural transformation in sub-Saharan Africa—Analysing the roles of institutional quality and human capital," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1010-1026.

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