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Chinese development assistance and household welfare in Sub-Saharan Africa

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  • Martorano, Bruno
  • Metzger, Laura
  • Sanfilippo, Marco

Abstract

We study the impact of Chinese aid on household welfare in Sub-Saharan Africa by combining data on Chinese development projects with data from Demographic and Health Surveys. Using difference-in-differences estimations and a matching technique, we analyze the effect of Chinese aid on three social development outcomes: education, and child health and nutrition. We find that Chinese aid projects improve education and child mortality in treatment areas but have no effects on child nutrition. A sectoral analysis further reveals that social sector projects successfully improve households’ health and education. Improvements in these outcomes may additionally be driven indirectly by a positive effect of Chinese aid on economic welfare in treatment areas. Regarding the distribution and scale of Chinese projects we find that our results hold for lower treatment intensity levels only, suggesting a non-linear effect of Chinese aid.

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  • Martorano, Bruno & Metzger, Laura & Sanfilippo, Marco, 2020. "Chinese development assistance and household welfare in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:129:y:2020:i:c:s0305750x20300358
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.104909
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    Cited by:

    1. Cruzatti C., John & Dreher, Axel & Matzat, Johannes, 2023. "Chinese aid and health at the country and local level," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    2. Dreher, Axel & Bluhm, Richard & Fuchs, Andreas & Parks, Bradley & Strange, Austin & Tierney, Michael, 2020. "Connective Financing - Chinese Infrastructure Projects and the Diffusion of Economic Activity in Developing Countries," CEPR Discussion Papers 14818, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Iacoella, Francesco & Martorano, Bruno & Metzger, Laura & Sanfilippo, Marco, 2021. "Chinese official finance and political participation in Africa," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    4. Krishna Chaitanya Vadlamannati & Yuanxin Li & Samuel Brazys & Alexander Dukalskis, 2019. "Building Bridges or Breaking Bonds? The Belt and Road Initiative and Foreign Aid Competition," Working Papers 201906, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    5. Lindlacher Valentin & Gustav Pirich, 2024. "The Impact of China’s “Stadium Diplomacy” on Local Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa," CESifo Working Paper Series 10893, CESifo.
    6. Elvis Dze Achuo & Tii N. Nchofoung & Simplice A. Asongu & Gildas Dohba Dinga, 2021. "Unravelling the Mysteries of Underdevelopment in Africa," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 21/073, African Governance and Development Institute..
    7. Bai, Yu & Li, Yanjun & Wang, Yunuo, 2022. "Chinese aid and local political attitudes," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    8. Dreher, Axel & Fuchs, Andreas & Hodler, Roland & Parks, Bradley C. & Raschky, Paul A. & Tierney, Michael J., 2021. "Is Favoritism a Threat to Chinese Aid Effectiveness? A Subnational Analysis of Chinese Development Projects," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    9. Xu, Zhicheng Phil & Zhang, Yu, 2020. "Can Chinese aid win the hearts and minds of Africa’s local population?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 322-330.
    10. Loujaina Abdelwahed & Georgios Karras, 2021. "Did 272 billion dollars from China help stabilize business cycle fluctuations in recipient countries?," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 314-358, May.
    11. Zhang, Liyunpeng & Li, Xiao & Zhuang, Yuhang & Li, Ningning, 2022. "World Bank aid and local multidimensional poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    12. Chapel, Capucine, 2022. "Impact of official development assistance projects for renewable energy on electrification in sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    13. Michael Appiah‐Kubi & Jeneshia Jarrett, 2023. "Chinese aid and crime: Evidence from Africa," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(7), pages 1619-1647, October.
    14. Lanati, Mauro & Sanfilippo, Marco & Santi, Filippo, 2023. "Aid and internal migration in Malawi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    15. Lisa Chauvet & Marin Ferry, 2023. "L’efficacité de l’aide : quelles évolutions de la littérature depuis deux décennies ? WP329," Working Papers hal-04141543, HAL.
    16. Wellner, Lukas & Dreher, Axel & Fuchs, Andreas & Parks, Bradley & Strange, Austin M., 2022. "Can aid buy foreign public support? Evidence from Chinese development finance," Kiel Working Papers 2214, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    17. Dreher, Axel & Fuchs, Andreas & Hodler, Roland & Parks, Bradley C. & Raschky, Paul A. & Tierney, Michael J., 2019. "African leaders and the geography of China's foreign assistance," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 44-71.
    18. Mandon, Pierre & Woldemichael, Martha Tesfaye, 2023. "Has Chinese aid benefited recipient countries? Evidence from a meta-regression analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    19. Zhang, Liyunpeng & Zhuang, Yuhang & Ding, Yibing & Liu, Ziwei, 2023. "Infrastructure and poverty reduction: Assessing the dynamic impact of Chinese infrastructure investment in sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Aid effectiveness; Chinese aid; Household welfare; DHS; Geocoded data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F35 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Aid
    • O19 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations
    • R20 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - General

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