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Do donors get what they paid for? micro evidence on the fungibility of development project aid

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  • van de Walle, Dominique
  • Cratty, Dorothyjean

Abstract

Recipient government responses to development project aid have typically been studied at high levels of aggregation, using cross-country comparisons and/or aggregate time series data. Yet increasingly the relevant decisions are being made at the local level, in response to specific community-level projects. The authors use local-level data to test for fungibility of World Bank financing of rural road rehabilitation targeted to specific geographic areas of Vietnam. A simple double difference estimate suggests that the project's net contribution to rehabilitated road increments is close to zero, suggesting complete displacement of funding. However, with better controls for the endogeneity of project placement the authors find much less evidence of fungibility, with displacement accounting for around one-third of the aid. The results point to the importance ofdealing with selection bias in assessing project aid fungibility.

Suggested Citation

  • van de Walle, Dominique & Cratty, Dorothyjean, 2005. "Do donors get what they paid for? micro evidence on the fungibility of development project aid," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3542, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3542
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Charles Kenny, 2008. "What is effective aid? How would donors allocate it?," The European Journal of Development Research, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 20(2), pages 330-346.
    2. Łukasz Marć, 2017. "The Impact of Aid on Total Government Expenditures: New Evidence on Fungibility," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 627-663, August.
    3. Minoiu, Camelia & Reddy, Sanjay G., 2010. "Development aid and economic growth: A positive long-run relation," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 27-39, February.
    4. Łukasz Marć, 2015. "The impact of aid on total government expenditures: New evidence on fungibility," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2015-010, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Łukasz Marć, 2017. "The Impact of Aid on Total Government Expenditures: New Evidence on Fungibility," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 627-663, August.
    6. Liutang Gong & Yuzhe Zhang & Heng-fu Zou, 2008. "Foreign Aid, Public Spending, Optimal Fiscal and Monetary Policies, and Long-Run Growth," CEMA Working Papers 309, China Economics and Management Academy, Central University of Finance and Economics.

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    Keywords

    Housing&Human Habitats; Roads&Highways; ICT Policy and Strategies; Health Economics&Finance; Poverty Monitoring&Analysis;
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