Asides

The political economy of foreign aid: the ‘why’ and the ‘how’

Seminar, Bob Douglas Lecture Theatre, NCEPH (entrance via Eggleston Road). Kizzy Gandy, PhD student. The political economy of foreign aid: the ‘why’ and the ‘how’. 21 April 2009, 12.30pm – 1.30pm.

More than twenty years of survey data show that while public support for aid varies considerably across DAC member states, within states it has remained fairly constant over time. My thesis sets out to answer the questions of why and how ordinary citizens are motivated to support overseas aid cross-nationally. The foundational proposition of my research is that a relationship exists between public opinion and government aid efforts. The question is whether this relationship is derived rationally and/or constitutively.

Understanding why (rationally) and/or how (constitutively) public support is motivated is important to improving aid governance, including aid effectiveness. Foreign aid tends to be committed on a year-by-year basis and for aid to be effective it must be predictable and sustainable – no development project can address poverty in one year. Likewise, who aid is given to, and for what types of projects, significantly influences development outcomes. For decades the development community has struggled to find ways to foster better donor coordination so that financial flows are strategically targeted toward reducing poverty and preventing aid dependence. My thesis conjectures that part of the solution involves identifying the mechanisms which guide popular attitudes to aid.

© 2009 People and Development.