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Chinese Aid and Local Ethnic Identification

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  • Isaksson, Ann-Sofie

    (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN))

Abstract

Recent empirical evidence suggests that Chinese development finance may be particularly prone to elite capture and patronage spending. If aid ends up in the pockets of political elites and their ethno-regional networks, this may exacerbate ethnic grievances and contribute to ethnic mobilization. The present paper examines whether Chinese development projects make local ethnic identities more salient in African partner countries. A new geo-referenced dataset on the subnational allocation of Chinese development finance projects to Africa is geographically matched with survey data for 50,520 respondents from 11 African countries. The identification strategy consists in comparing sites where a Chinese project was under implementation at the time of the interview to sites where a Chinese project will appear subsequently. The empirical results indeed suggest that living near an ongoing Chinese project makes ethnic identities more salient. There is no indication of an equivalent pattern when considering development projects of other donors.

Suggested Citation

  • Isaksson, Ann-Sofie, 2020. "Chinese Aid and Local Ethnic Identification," Working Paper Series 1336, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1336
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    Cited by:

    1. Abreham Adera, 2024. "Chinese Aid Projects and Local Tax Attitudes: Evidence from Africa," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 36(1), pages 102-134, February.
    2. Ann-Sofie Isaksson & Andreas Kotsadam, 2020. "Chinese Aid to Africa: Distinguishing Features and Local Effects," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 21(02), pages 27-31, July.
    3. Philip Akrofi Atitianti, 2023. "The impact of Chinese aid on political trust," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(2), pages 233-259, March.
    4. Ann-Sofie Isaksson & Dick Durevall, 2023. "Aid and institutions: Local effects of World Bank aid on perceived institutional quality in Africa," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 523-551, July.
    5. 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).
    6. Mandon, Pierre & Woldemichael, Martha Tesfaye, 2023. "Has Chinese aid benefited recipient countries? Evidence from a meta-regression analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    7. Wegenast, Tim & Richetta, Cécile & Krauser, Mario & Leibik, Alexander, 2022. "Grabbed trust? The impact of large-scale land acquisitions on social trust in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    8. Laura Maravall & Jörg Baten & Johan Fourie, 2023. "Leader selection and why it matters: Education and the endogeneity of favouritism in 11 African countries," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 1562-1604, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    China; Aid; Ethnic identities; Africa;
    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
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

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