This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

The Political Economy of China's Aid Policy in Africa

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Gernot Pehnelt () (School of Busniess and Economics, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Germany.)
Abstract

In recent years, China has become a major power on the African continent, not only with respect to trade and investment, but also as a donor of development aid. Although there is no accurate measure of the exact size of China’s aid program, since China rather underestimates the volume in official statistics, estimates on the basis of press releases, official announcements and assessments of major projects in Africa suggest that China has already overtaken the World Bank in lending to Africa. In this article, we analyze China’s aid policy in Africa from a political economy perspective. We show that China is using (tied) aid and loans in order to reach specific economic and political goals and that Beijing has been quite successful in doing so. The impressing success of China in getting access to African countries can be explained by comparative advantages of the People’s Republic, especially in unstable nations and "rough" states. China’s engagement in Africa causes some serious problems with traditional donors. We discuss these conflicts and provide a critical assessment of China’s role in Africa. Finally, we discuss the policy implications for the donor community.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://zs.thulb.uni-jena.de/receive/jportal_jparticle_00060876
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Max-Planck-Institute of Economics in its series Jena Economic Research Papers in Economics with number 2007-051.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: 22 Aug 2007
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2007-051

Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://www.jenecon.de

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Markus Pasche).

Related research
Keywords: China; Africa; development aid; political economy;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
O16 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment
O19 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations
F35 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Aid
F50 - International Economics - - International Relations and International Political Economy - - - General

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? Over 1000 institutions contribute their bibliographic data directly to this service.

This page was last updated on 2009-12-9.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.