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  • © 2019

Lessons on Foreign Aid and Economic Development

Micro and Macro Perspectives

Palgrave Macmillan
  • Offers perspectives on and assessment of various donor projects

  • Aims to resolve the ambiguity in current literature with regard to aid effectiveness

  • Breaks down the various types of aid and provides examples for each

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Table of contents (13 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xviii
  2. Introduction

    • Nabamita Dutta, Claudia R. Williamson
    Pages 1-9
  3. Foreign Aid and Macro and Micro Development Outcomes

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 11-11
    2. Types of Foreign Aid

      • Christian Bjørnskov
      Pages 33-61
  4. The Political Economy of Donor Behavior

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 83-83
    2. What Influences World Bank Project Evaluations?

      • Christopher Kilby, Katharina Michaelowa
      Pages 109-150
    3. Aid Allocation and Outcomes: What Role Do Political Motives Play?

      • Nabamita Dutta, Claudia R. Williamson
      Pages 151-166
  5. Foreign Aid’s Effect on Institutional Quality

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 167-167
    2. Foreign Aid and Recipient State Capacity

      • Andrew T. Young, Estefania Lujan Padilla
      Pages 169-186
    3. Foreign Aid and Repression

      • Faisal Z. Ahmed
      Pages 187-205
    4. Can Foreign Aid Promote Political and Economic Freedom?

      • Nabamita Dutta, Michael A. Fakutiju, Claudia R. Williamson
      Pages 207-222
  6. The Political Economy of Privately Provided Aid

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 223-223
    2. Remittances and FDI As Privately Provided International Aid

      • Olga Nicoara, Scott A. Burns
      Pages 245-273
    3. The Role of Entrepreneurs in Facilitating Remittances in Cuba

      • Stefanie Haeffele, Anne Lynn Hobson
      Pages 275-293
  7. Back Matter

    Pages 295-297

About this book

A response to the pressing need to address and clarify the substantial ambiguity within current literature, this edited volume aims to deepen readers’ understanding of the impact of foreign aid on development outcomes based on the latest findings in research over the past decade. Foreign aid has long been seen as one of two extremes: either beneficial or damaging, a blessing or a curse. Consequently, many readers perceive aid’s effectiveness based on the work of scholars who are assessing the impact of aid from one of two antithetical perspectives. This book takes a different approach, shedding light on recent research that can deepen our understanding of the complex relationship between aid and its aftereffects. Drawing from an extensive set of studies that have explored micro and macro impacts of foreign aid for recipient nations, chapter authors highlight more layered and nuanced findings, with a focus on donor characteristics, political motives, and an evaluation of aid projects and their effectiveness, including the differential impact based on type of aid. This volume is the first of its kind to unpack aid as a complex rather than a unitary concept and explore the wide areas of grey that have long enshrouded foreign aid.



Editors and Affiliations

  • University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, La Crosse, USA

    Nabamita Dutta

  • Mississippi State University, Mississippi, USA

    Claudia R. Williamson

About the editors

Nabamita Dutta is Associate Professor of Economics at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, USA. To date, she has published over 40 peer reviewed articles on various topics (e.g. foreign aid, press freedom, economic freedom, financial development, and entrepreneurship) at the intersection of new institutional economics and economic development. Her articles have appeared in esteemed journals like the European Journal of Political Economy, Kyklos, Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Journal of Institutional Economics, Small Business Economics, International Review of Economics and Finance, Economic Modelling and the Review of International Economics. She has been a visiting research scholar at various institutions in India, Australia, and Germany, and has delivered invited research talks at various prestigious international conferences and workshops. Her research has also been covered by the media, in particular by the BBC, New York Magazine, and Ideas for India.

Claudia R. Williamson is Associate Professor of Economics and the Drew Allen Endowed Fellow at Mississippi State University, USA. Her research focuses on applied microeconomics, the role of culture in development, and the political economy of development policies, such as foreign aid. She currently serves as an editor for the Journal of Institutional Economics. Claudia has authored over 35 articles in refereed journals including the Journal of Law and Economics, World Development, Journal of Comparative Economics, Public Choice, Journal of Corporate Finance, and Journal of Institutional Economics. Her work is cited in top journals including the American Economic Review, American Political Science Review, Journal of Economic Growth, and the European Economic Review. Her research has also appeared in popular press outlets, such as The Economist and the BBC. 





Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access