IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/compsc/v41y2024i2p155-176.html

Donor political preferences and the allocation of aid: Patterns in recipient type

Author

Listed:
  • Zoe Greene

    (3527University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK)

  • Amanda A Licht

    (Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY, USA)

Abstract

National executives in Western democracies are not unilateral deciders: they lead parties with long-term policy priorities and manage challenging multiparty coalitions. Leaders of donor states use foreign aid to pursue their goals, including enacting policy output consistent with party ideology. Because preferences for international engagement condition the effect of left–right ideology and coalition government incorporates actors with distinct preferences, we predict that left-pro-internationalist prime ministers and development ministers prefer aiding the neediest recipients while right-internationalists emphasize trade opportunities. Our statistical analysis of OECD donor–potential recipient dyads demonstrates the utility of unpacking democratic domestic politics’ effect on leader incentives and decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • Zoe Greene & Amanda A Licht, 2024. "Donor political preferences and the allocation of aid: Patterns in recipient type," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 41(2), pages 155-176, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:compsc:v:41:y:2024:i:2:p:155-176
    DOI: 10.1177/07388942231195300
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/07388942231195300
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/07388942231195300?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alexiadou, Despina, 2016. "Ideologues, Partisans, and Loyalists: Ministers and Policymaking in Parliamentary Cabinets," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198755715.
    2. Alejandro Ecker & Thomas M. Meyer, 2019. "Fairness and qualitative portfolio allocation in multiparty governments," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 181(3), pages 309-330, December.
    3. Dreher, Axel & Sturm, Jan-Egbert & Vreeland, James Raymond, 2009. "Development aid and international politics: Does membership on the UN Security Council influence World Bank decisions?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 1-18, January.
    4. Keman, Hans, 2011. "Third Ways and Social Democracy: The Right Way to Go?," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 41(3), pages 671-680, July.
    5. Brech, Viktor & Potrafke, Niklas, 2014. "Donor ideology and types of foreign aid," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 61-75.
    6. Guy D. Whitten & Laron K. Williams, 2011. "Buttery Guns and Welfare Hawks: The Politics of Defense Spending in Advanced Industrial Democracies," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(1), pages 117-134, January.
    7. Helen V. Milner & Dustin H. Tingley, 2010. "The Political Economy Of U.S. Foreign Aid: American Legislators And The Domestic Politics Of Aid," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(2), pages 200-232, July.
    8. Moravcsik, Andrew, 1997. "Taking Preferences Seriously: A Liberal Theory of International Politics," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(4), pages 513-553, October.
    9. Huber, John D., 1996. "The Vote of Confidence in Parliamentary Democracies," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 90(2), pages 269-282, June.
    10. Goodhart, Lucy, 2013. "Who Decides? Coalition Governance and Ministerial Discretion," Quarterly Journal of Political Science, now publishers, vol. 8(3), pages 205-237, June.
    11. Chong, Alberto & Gradstein, Mark, 2008. "What determines foreign aid? The donors' perspective," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 1-13, August.
    12. Jean‐Claude Berthélemy, 2006. "Bilateral Donors’ Interest vs. Recipients’ Development Motives in Aid Allocation: Do All Donors Behave the Same?," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(2), pages 179-194, May.
    13. Anke Hoeffler & Verity Outram, 2011. "Need, Merit, or Self‐Interest—What Determines the Allocation of Aid?," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 237-250, May.
    14. Axel Dreher & Peter Nunnenkamp & Maya Schmaljohann, 2015. "The Allocation of German Aid: Self-interest and Government Ideology," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 160-184, March.
    15. Brambor, Thomas & Clark, William Roberts & Golder, Matt, 2006. "Understanding Interaction Models: Improving Empirical Analyses," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(1), pages 63-82, January.
    16. Alesina, Alberto & Dollar, David, 2000. "Who Gives Foreign Aid to Whom and Why?," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 33-63, March.
    17. John M. Carey, 2007. "Competing Principals, Political Institutions, and Party Unity in Legislative Voting," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 51(1), pages 92-107, January.
    18. Tierney, Michael J. & Nielson, Daniel L. & Hawkins, Darren G. & Roberts, J. Timmons & Findley, Michael G. & Powers, Ryan M. & Parks, Bradley & Wilson, Sven E. & Hicks, Robert L., 2011. "More Dollars than Sense: Refining Our Knowledge of Development Finance Using AidData," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(11), pages 1891-1906.
    19. Cheng, Cindy & Minhas, Shahryar, 2021. "Keeping Friends Close, But Enemies Closer: Foreign Aid Responses to Natural Disasters," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(3), pages 940-962, July.
    20. Benjamin Jones & Eleonora Mattiacci & Timothy Nordstrom, 2024. "How leader's type shapes the effect of nuclear latency on dispute involvement," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 41(2), pages 177-193, March.
    21. Bermeo, Sarah Blodgett, 2017. "Aid Allocation and Targeted Development in an Increasingly Connected World," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 71(4), pages 735-766, October.
    22. Dudley, Leonard & Montmarquette, Claude, 1976. "A Model of the Supply of Bilateral Foreign Aid," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 66(1), pages 132-142, March.
    23. Bimal Adhikari, 2019. "Power Politics and Foreign Aid Delivery Tactics," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 100(5), pages 1523-1539, August.
    24. Simone Dietrich & Amanda Murdie, 2017. "Human rights shaming through INGOs and foreign aid delivery," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 95-120, March.
    25. Bermeo, Sarah Blodgett & Leblang, David, 2015. "Migration and Foreign Aid," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 69(3), pages 627-657, July.
    26. Morgenthau, Hans, 1962. "A Political Theory of Foreign Aid," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(2), pages 301-309, June.
    27. Sigelman, Lee & Zeng, Langche, 1999. "Analyzing Censored and Sample-Selected Data with Tobit and Heckit Models," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(2), pages 167-182, December.
    28. Tingley, Dustin, 2010. "Corrigendum to "Donors and Domestic Politics: Political Influences on Foreign Aid Effort" [Q. Rev. Econ. Finance 50 (2010) 40-49]," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 244-244, May.
    29. Fuchs, Andreas & Richert, Katharina, 2018. "Development minister characteristics and aid giving," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 186-204.
    30. Helen V. Milner & Dustin Tingley, 2013. "Public Opinion and Foreign Aid: A Review Essay," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(3), pages 389-401, July.
    31. James Adams & Lawrence Ezrow & Zeynep Somer‐Topcu, 2011. "Is Anybody Listening? Evidence That Voters Do Not Respond to European Parties’ Policy Statements During Elections," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(2), pages 370-382, April.
    32. Giacomo Chiozza & Lena Khalifa, 2024. "The harsh face of the empire by invitation: Coups in the US world order," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 41(2), pages 110-131, March.
    33. Heinrich, Tobias & Kobayashi, Yoshiharu, 2020. "How Do People Evaluate Foreign Aid To ‘Nasty’ Regimes?," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(1), pages 103-127, January.
    34. Jeff Carter, 2024. "Political leaders and military spending," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 41(2), pages 132-154, March.
    35. Robert Thomson & Terry Royed & Elin Naurin & Joaquín Artés & Rory Costello & Laurenz Ennser‐Jedenastik & Mark Ferguson & Petia Kostadinova & Catherine Moury & François Pétry & Katrin Praprotnik, 2017. "The Fulfillment of Parties’ Election Pledges: A Comparative Study on the Impact of Power Sharing," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 61(3), pages 527-542, July.
    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. Giacomo Chiozza & Lena Khalifa, 2024. "The harsh face of the empire by invitation: Coups in the US world order," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 41(2), pages 110-131, March.
    2. Benjamin Jones & Eleonora Mattiacci & Timothy Nordstrom, 2024. "How leader's type shapes the effect of nuclear latency on dispute involvement," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 41(2), pages 177-193, March.
    3. Jeff Carter, 2024. "Introduction to special issue: New research on leaders and peace science," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 41(2), pages 99-109, March.
    4. Jeff Carter, 2024. "Political leaders and military spending," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 41(2), pages 132-154, March.

    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. Angelika J. Budjan & Andreas Fuchs, 2021. "Democracy and Aid Donorship," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(4), pages 217-238, November.
    2. Dreher, Axel & Lang, Valentin & Reinsberg, Bernhard, 2024. "Aid effectiveness and donor motives," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    3. Lauren L. Ferry & Emilie M. Hafner-Burton & Christina J. Schneider, 2020. "Catch me if you care: International development organizations and national corruption," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 767-792, October.
    4. Tobias Heinrich & Yoshiharu Kobayashi, 2022. "Evaluating explanations for poverty selectivity in foreign aid," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(1), pages 30-47, February.
    5. Thilo Bodenstein & Jörg Faust, 2017. "Who Cares? European Public Opinion on Foreign Aid and Political Conditionality," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(5), pages 955-973, September.
    6. Axel Dreher & Peter Nunnenkamp & Maya Schmaljohann, 2015. "The Allocation of German Aid: Self-interest and Government Ideology," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 160-184, March.
    7. de Felice, Damiano, 2015. "Diverging Visions on Political Conditionality: The Role of Domestic Politics and International Socialization in French and British Aid," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 26-45.
    8. Brech, Viktor & Potrafke, Niklas, 2014. "Donor ideology and types of foreign aid," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 61-75.
    9. Couharde, Cécile & Karanfil, Fatih & Kilama, Eric Gabin & Omgba, Luc Désiré, 2020. "The role of oil in the allocation of foreign aid: The case of the G7 donors," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 363-383.
    10. Heinrich, Tobias & Kobayashi, Yoshiharu & Bryant, Kristin A., 2016. "Public Opinion and Foreign Aid Cuts in Economic Crises," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 66-79.
    11. Dylan Bugden & Jesse Brazil, 2024. "The role of geostrategic interests in motivating public support for foreign climate aid," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 14(4), pages 803-813, December.
    12. Minasyan, Anna, 2018. "US aid, US educated leaders and economic ideology," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 244-257.
    13. Barthel, Fabian & Neumayer, Eric & Nunnenkamp, Peter & Selaya, Pablo, 2014. "Competition for Export Markets and the Allocation of Foreign Aid: The Role of Spatial Dependence among Donor Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 350-365.
    14. Samuel Brazys & Krishna Chaitanya Vadlamannati & Tianyang Song, 2019. "Which Wheel Gets the Grease? Constituent Agency and Sub-national World Bank Aid Allocation," Working Papers 201907, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    15. Corwin, Hillary, 2023. "Coercive and catalytic strategies for human rights promotion: State violence and foreign assistance," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    16. Andreas Fuchs & Peter Nunnenkamp & Hannes Öhler, 2015. "Why Donors of Foreign Aid Do Not Coordinate: The Role of Competition for Export Markets and Political Support," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(2), pages 255-285, February.
    17. Hicks, Daniel L. & Hicks, Joan Hamory & Maldonado, Beatriz, 2016. "Women as policy makers and donors: Female legislators and foreign aid," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 46-60.
    18. Axel Dreher & Sarah Langlotz & Silvia Marchesi, 2017. "Information Transmission And Ownership Consolidation In Aid Programs," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(4), pages 1671-1688, October.
    19. Juergen Bitzer & Erkan Goeren, 2018. "Foreign Aid and Subnational Development: A Grid Cell Analysis," Working Papers V-407-18, University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics, revised Mar 2018.
    20. Breßlein, Martin & Schmaljohann, Maya, 2013. "Surrender your market! Do the G5 countries use World Bank Trade Conditionality to promote Trade?," Working Papers 0550, University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:sae:compsc:v:41:y:2024:i:2:p:155-176. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://pss.la.psu.edu/ .

    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.