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Elite Capture of Foreign Aid: Evidence from Offshore Bank Accounts

Author

Listed:
  • Joergen Juel Andersen

    (BI Norwegian Business School)

  • Niels Johannesen

    (CEBI, Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen)

  • Bob Rijkers

    (CEBI, Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen)

Abstract

Do elites capture foreign aid? This paper documents that aid disbursements to highly aid-dependent countries coincide with sharp increases in bank deposits in offshore financial centers known for bank secrecy and private wealth management, but not in other financial centers. The estimates are not confounded by contemporaneous shocks such as civil conflicts, natural disasters and financial crises, and are robust to instrumenting with predetermined aid commitments. The implied leakage rate is around 7.5% at the sample mean and tends to increase with the ratio of aid to GDP. The findings are consistent with aid capture in the most aid-dependent countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Joergen Juel Andersen & Niels Johannesen & Bob Rijkers, 2020. "Elite Capture of Foreign Aid: Evidence from Offshore Bank Accounts," CEBI working paper series 20-07, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. The Center for Economic Behavior and Inequality (CEBI).
    • Handle: RePEc:kud:kucebi:2007
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    JEL classification:

    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • F35 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Aid
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

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