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On the Samaritan’s Dilemma, Foreign Aid, and Freedom

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  • Joao Ricardo Faria

    (Department of Economics, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA)

  • Daniel Arce

    (School of Economics, Political and Policy Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA)

Abstract

This paper presents an extension of the two-period Samaritan’s Dilemma in order to analyze the potential for foreign aid to promote freedom. An example is the United States’ recent opening towards Cuba. It is shown that a donor nation’s dual concern for economic reforms and greater freedoms can exacerbate the Samaritan’s Dilemma, even when economic aid is coupled with targets for freedom. By contrast, a policy that is focused on freedom alone can potentially resolve the Samaritan’s Dilemma. Such a policy requires the donor to temper the degree of altruism that motivates its provision of economic aid to the recipient nation.

Suggested Citation

  • Joao Ricardo Faria & Daniel Arce, 2018. "On the Samaritan’s Dilemma, Foreign Aid, and Freedom," Economies, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-17, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:6:y:2018:i:4:p:53-:d:174209
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. João Ricardo Faria & Emilson Caputo Delfino Silva, 2020. "Leadership delegation in rotten kid families," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(2), pages 441-460, April.
    2. Franklin G. Mixon, 2019. "Editor’s Introduction," Economies, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-5, July.

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