Determinants Of Usaid Spending, Austin J. Moser

Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development—Student Research

This paper examines the determinants of USAID’s foreign aid disbursements from 2002-2016. Three noteworthy findings emerge. First, USAID foreign aid is based more on political considerations rather than the policies of recipient countries. Second, foreign aid is determined by location and political history. Third, this pattern emerges across all categories of USAID disbursements.

Foreign Aid And Economic Growth: A Post-Soviet Analysis Of Emerging Markets, Brett Michaelson

Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development—Student Research

This paper examines the relationship between economic growth and aid receipts per capita in a post-Soviet world. Utilizing economic growth models and assumptions developed by Burnside and Dollar (2000), I find that general sources of foreign aid are detrimental to a country's economic growth. I find that net ODA per capita acts as a substitute for local government investment in pro-growth policies. As such, foreign aid should only be used in targeted and specific cases.