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Aid and growth. New evidence using an excludable instrument

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  • Langlotz, Sarah
  • Dreher, Axel

Abstract

We use an excludable instrument to test the effect of foreign aid on economic growth, in a sample of 73 countries over the 1966-2009 period. We interact donors legislature fractionalization with a recipient country s probability to receive aid. The results show fractionalization to increase donors aid budgets, representing the over-time variation of our instrument, while the probability to receive aid introduces variation across recipient countries. Controlling for country- and period-specific effects that absorb the levels of the interacted variables, the interaction provides a powerful and excludable instrument. Making use of this instrument, our results show that aid increases growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Langlotz, Sarah & Dreher, Axel, 2015. "Aid and growth. New evidence using an excludable instrument," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 112878, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:vfsc15:112878
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    JEL classification:

    • O19 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • F35 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Aid

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