IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v178y2023ics0301421523001817.html

Some factors of energy aid volatility across developing countries: A special focus on renewable sector

Author

Listed:
  • Jain, Panika
  • Bardhan, Samaresh

Abstract

Energy aid effectiveness is paramount for the timely achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)-7. However, the volatility of energy aid reduces its effectiveness. Given this, the paper empirically investigates the determinants of energy aid volatility and its renewable energy generation (REG) component for 76 aid-recipient countries during 2002–2019. By considering recipient and donor-specific factors, we also explore the linkages of all these factors with the direction of volatility, i.e., aid shortfalls and windfalls. Findings reveal that variations in energy/REG aid volatility reflect the recipient's macroeconomic and institutional characteristics more than donor-specific factors. Moreover, the impacts of all these factors vary across aid shortfalls and windfalls. Specifically, economic prosperity and aid dependency increase energy/REG aid volatility, infused by different directions of aid shocks. Contrarily, oil rents, political stability, and strong democracy reduce aid volatility. Multilateral donors provide more stable funding compared to bilateral donors. We also observe that donors provide stable REG aid in countries with inadequate renewable policies and clean development mechanism funding, playing a catalyst role in supporting institutionally weak countries in the renewable sector. We draw certain policy implications for donors and recipients to manage and mitigate the adverse consequences of volatile energy aid flows.

Suggested Citation

  • Jain, Panika & Bardhan, Samaresh, 2023. "Some factors of energy aid volatility across developing countries: A special focus on renewable sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:178:y:2023:i:c:s0301421523001817
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113596
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421523001817
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113596?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dang, Hai-Anh & Knack, Stephen & Rogers, F. Halsey, 2013. "International aid and financial crises in donor countries," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 232-250.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Giganti, Patrizio & Barra, Cristian & Falcone, Pasquale Marcello, 2025. "Unveiling the nexus of institutional quality and renewable energy utilizing a Topic Modelling approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    2. Yahya, Farzan & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2025. "Unveiling the multifaceted role of climate readiness in stabilizing renewables integration: Evidence of energy transition dynamics from a multi-theoretical perspective," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    3. Firtescu, Bogdan Narcis & Bostan, Ionel & Grosu, Maria & Droj, Laurențiu & Mihalciuc, Camelia Catalina, 2025. "Increasing the share of renewable energy sources (RESs) in the specific portfolio by using the taxation mechanism: Study at the level of EU states," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 1534-1549.
    4. Chen, Yuzhu & Guo, Weimin & Lund, Peter D. & Du, Na & Yang, Kun & wang, Jun, 2024. "Configuration optimization of a wind-solar based net-zero emission tri-generation energy system considering renewable power and carbon trading mechanisms," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).
    5. Bashir, Muhammad Farhan & Jamaani, Fouad & Wang, Jue & Huang, Huan, 2026. "Analyzing the dynamic impact of energy aid on energy transition in South Asia: Policy implications for renewable adaptive capacity and energy decarbonization," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    6. Muhammad Farhan Bashir & Fouad Jamaani & Jue Wang & Huan Huang, 2026. "Examining the Role of Energy Aid, Energy Efficiency and Human Development in Climate Change Mitigation: Policy Implications for Sustainable Development in Emerging African Economies," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(1), pages 768-784, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alessandro De Matteis, 2018. "Follow the leader! The peer effect in aid supply decisions," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 36(6), pages 631-648, October.
    2. Philip Keefer & Christopher Kilby, 2021. "Introduction to the special issue: In memoriam Stephen Knack," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 473-493, July.
    3. Sumner, Andrew & Klingebiel, Stephan, 2026. "The oil shock and the new political economy of development cooperation," IDOS Policy Briefs 18/2026, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Bonn.
    4. Mehmet Pinar, 2025. "Green Aid and Environmental Quality in Developing Countries: The Role of Donor‐Recipient Institutional Differences," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 2534-2549, November.
    5. Richard A. Nielsen & Michael G. Findley & Zachary S. Davis & Tara Candland & Daniel L. Nielson, 2011. "Foreign Aid Shocks as a Cause of Violent Armed Conflict," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(2), pages 219-232, April.
    6. Robert Shelburne, 2010. "The Global Financial Crisis and Its Impact on Trade: The World and the European Emerging Economies," ECE Discussion Papers Series 2010_2, UNECE.
    7. Kobayashi, Yoshiharu & Heinrich, Tobias & Bryant, Kristin A., 2021. "Public support for development aid during the COVID-19 pandemic," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    8. Adam, Antonis & Tsarsitalidou, Sofia, 2022. "The effect of international development association's (IDA) aid on conflict. A fuzzy regression discontinuity approach," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    9. Ms. Era Dabla-Norris & Ms. Camelia Minoiu & Luis-Felipe Zanna, 2010. "Business Cycle Fluctuations, Large Shocks, and Development Aid: New Evidence," IMF Working Papers 2010/240, International Monetary Fund.
    10. Maureen Lewis & Marijn Verhoeven, 2010. "Financial Crises and Social Spending : The Impact of the 2008-2009 Crisis," World Bank Publications - Reports 12965, The World Bank Group.
    11. Sam Jones, 2011. "Aid Supplies Over Time: Accounting for Heterogeneity, Trends and Dynamics," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2011-004, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    12. Jonas Gamso, 2024. "Food Aid Shocks and Food Insecurity: Does Democracy Matter?," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 36(5), pages 1253-1279, October.
    13. Andrea Filippo Presbitero & Alberto Zazzaro, 2010. "The Global Crisis in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: How the IMF Responded," Mo.Fi.R. Working Papers 35, Money and Finance Research group (Mo.Fi.R.) - Univ. Politecnica Marche - Dept. Economic and Social Sciences.
    14. Bernhard REINSBERG, 2017. "The use of multi-bi aid by France in comparison with other donor countries," Working Paper 3c664604-b408-4a2c-bf46-5, Agence française de développement.
    15. Sam Jones, 2011. "Aid Supplies Over Time Accounting for Heterogeneity, Trends, and Dynamics," WIDER Working Paper Series 004, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    16. Sena Kimm Gnangnon, 2018. "Impact of development aid on remittances sent from donor-countries," Remittances Review, Remittances Review, vol. 3(2), pages 109-134, October.
    17. Sardoschau, Sulin & Jarotschkin, Alexandra, 2024. "Chinese aid in Africa: Attitudes and conflict," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    18. Gnangnon, Sèna Kimm, 2017. "Structural economic vulnerability, openness and bilateral development aid flows," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 77-95.
    19. Debasish Kumar Das & Champa Bati Dutta, 2013. "Global Financial Crisis And Foreign Development Assistance Shocks In Least Developing Countries," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 38(2), pages 1-41, June.
    20. Carol Brunt & Kunle Akingbola, 2019. "How Strategic are Resource-Dependent Organisations? Experience of an International NGO in Kenya," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 31(2), pages 235-252, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • F35 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Aid
    • Q01 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - General - - - Sustainable Development
    • Q43 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Energy and the Macroeconomy
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:178:y:2023:i:c:s0301421523001817. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.