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Health aid, governance and infant mortality

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  • Chris Doucouliagos
  • Jack Hennessy
  • Debdulal Mallick

Abstract

We investigate the impact of health aid on infant mortality conditional on the quality of governance. Our analysis applies instrumental variable estimation with health aid instrumented by donor government fractionalization interacted with the probability of allocating health aid to a recipient country. Using panel data for 96 recipient countries for the 2002–2015 period, we find that the effectiveness of health aid in reducing infant mortality is conditional on good governance. The results are robust in a variety of ways. Our findings reaffirm the importance of improving the quality of governance in recipient countries.

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  • Chris Doucouliagos & Jack Hennessy & Debdulal Mallick, 2021. "Health aid, governance and infant mortality," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 184(2), pages 761-783, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jorssa:v:184:y:2021:i:2:p:761-783
    DOI: 10.1111/rssa.12679
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    Cited by:

    1. Cruzatti C., John & Dreher, Axel & Matzat, Johannes, 2023. "Chinese aid and health at the country and local level," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    2. Axel Dreher & Sarah Langlotz, 2020. "Aid and growth: New evidence using an excludable instrument," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(3), pages 1162-1198, August.
    3. Tim Röthel, 2023. "Budget support to the health sector—The right choice for strong institutions? Evidence from panel data," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(2), pages 735-770, May.
    4. Maame Esi Woode & Duncan Mortimer & Rohan Sweeney, 2021. "The impact of health sector‐wide approaches on aid effectiveness and infant mortality," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(5), pages 826-844, July.
    5. Ramkissoon, Benjamin & Deonanan, Regan, 2023. "How do remittances impact child mortality and are there preconditions?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 333(C).
    6. Dreher, Axel & Lang, Valentin & Reinsberg, Bernhard, 2024. "Aid effectiveness and donor motives," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    7. Hyunyi Choi & Keuntae Cho, 2023. "Effects of Science, Technology, and Innovation Official Development Assistance on Innovative Capacity in Developing Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-17, February.
    8. Li, Jia, 2024. "Less stunted? The impact of Chinese health aid on child nutrition," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 342(C).
    9. Yoojin Lim & Youngwan Kim & Daniel Connolly, 2023. "Assessing the impact of aid on public health expenditure in aid recipient countries," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 41(1), January.
    10. Hennessy, Jack & Mortimer, Duncan & Sweeney, Rohan & Woode, Maame Esi, 2023. "Donor versus recipient preferences for aid allocation: A systematic review of stated-preference studies," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).

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    JEL classification:

    • F35 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Aid
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development

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