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Aid, Policies, and Growth in Developing Countries: A New Look at the Empirics

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  • Eskander Alvi
  • Debasri Mukherjee
  • Elias Kedir Shukralla

Abstract

The relationship between foreign aid and economic growth has been the subject of much controversy. A recent theme suggesting that aid promotes growth, but only in a good policy environment has ratcheted up that debate. In this paper, we assess the importance of policy and aid in generating growth when the aid, policy, and growth relationship is nonlinear. This allows us to examine the varying effects of aid and policy in different data segments, which we do without imposing any particular structure on the underlying relationship. We find that policy is an important determinant of growth. We also find partial corroboration of the view that aid is growth enhancing in a good policy environment, and some evidence of diminishing returns to aid. These findings suggest that nonlinearities if not appropriately addressed fail to capture the detailed underlying dynamics and thereby mask some key features of the aid‐policy‐growth relationship.

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  • Eskander Alvi & Debasri Mukherjee & Elias Kedir Shukralla, 2008. "Aid, Policies, and Growth in Developing Countries: A New Look at the Empirics," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 74(3), pages 693-706, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:soecon:v:74:y:2008:i:3:p:693-706
    DOI: 10.1002/j.2325-8012.2008.tb00859.x
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    Cited by:

    1. James B. Ang, 2009. "Financial Liberalization And The Aid Growth Relationship In India," Development Research Unit Working Paper Series 10-09, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    2. Md Ismail Hossain & Md Istiak Hossain & Mollah Aminul Islam & Md Reza Sultanuzzaman, 2022. "Does Foreign Aid Have an Expected Role in the Economic Growth of Bangladesh? An Analysis in ARDL Approach," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 12(6), pages 113-126, November.
    3. Lessmann, Christian & Markwardt, Gunther, 2012. "Aid, Growth and Devolution," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(9), pages 1723-1749.
    4. Debasri Mukherjee & Elias Shukralla & Eskander Alvi, 2008. "Foreign Aid, Growth, Policy And Reform," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 15(6), pages 1-9.
    5. Shaomeng Jia & Claudia R. Williamson, 2019. "Aid, Policies, And Growth: Why So Much Confusion?," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 37(4), pages 577-599, October.
    6. Lessmann, Christian & Markwardt, Gunther, 2009. "Aid, growth and decentralization," Dresden Discussion Paper Series in Economics 09/09, Technische Universität Dresden, Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Economics.
    7. Ismahene Yahyaoui & Najeh Bouchoucha, 2021. "The long‐run relationship between ODA, growth and governance: An application of FMOLS and DOLS approaches," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 33(1), pages 38-54, March.
    8. Adusei, Elizabeth, 2020. "The impact of Foreign Aid on Economic Growth in Sub-Sahara Africa: The mediating role of Institutions," MPRA Paper 104561, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Nowak-Lehmann D., Felicitas & Martínez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada & Herzer, Dierk & Klasen, Stephan & Dreher, Axel, 2009. "The search for a long-run aid and growth relationship: Pitfalls and findings," Proceedings of the German Development Economics Conference, Frankfurt a.M. 2009 23, Verein für Socialpolitik, Research Committee Development Economics.
    10. Sarantis Kalyvitis & Thanasis Stengos & Irene Vlachaki, 2012. "Are Aid Flows Excessive or Insufficient? Estimating the Growth Impact of Aid in Threshold Regressions," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 59(3), pages 298-315, July.

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