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Can foreign aid free the press?

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  • DUTTA, NABAMITA
  • WILLIAMSON, CLAUDIA R.

Abstract

Can foreign aid help free the press? Aid may boost press freedom by incentivizing government to reduce media regulations and provide financial support for infrastructure. Alternatively, foreign aid may prevent press freedom by expanding the role of the state and promoting government over private enterprises. We contend that the magnitude of foreign aid's influence is conditional on the existence of democratic checks. Using panel data from 1994 to 2010, we find evidence suggesting that aid significantly increases press freedom in democracies but insignificantly relates to press freedom in autocracies. Collectively, the results suggest that a standard deviation increase in aid to a country at the mean level of democracy increases press freedom by approximately a 1/20th standard deviation. Overall, the findings suggest that donors should be cautious as most aid recipients are not democratic and aid leads to only relatively small marginal improvements in press freedom.

Suggested Citation

  • Dutta, Nabamita & Williamson, Claudia R., 2016. "Can foreign aid free the press?," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(3), pages 603-621, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jinsec:v:12:y:2016:i:03:p:603-621_00
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David B. Skarbek and Peter T. Leeson, 2009. "What Can Aid Do?," Cato Journal, Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 29(3), pages 391-397, Fall.
    2. Kilby, Christopher & Dreher, Axel, 2010. "The impact of aid on growth revisited: Do donor motives matter?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 107(3), pages 338-340, June.
    3. Christopher J. Coyne & Peter T. Leeson, 2004. "Read All About It! Understanding the Role of Media in Economic Development," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(1), pages 21-44, February.
    4. Alexander Dyck & Luigi Zingales, 2002. "The Corporate Governance Role of the Media," NBER Working Papers 9309, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Nabamita Dutta & Peter T. Leeson & Claudia R. Williamson, 2013. "The Amplification Effect: Foreign Aid's Impact on Political Institutions," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(2), pages 208-228, May.
    6. Christopher J. Coyne & Peter T. Leeson, 2009. "Media as a Mechanism of Institutional Change and Reinforcement," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(1), pages 1-14, February.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Cooray, Arusha & Dutta, Nabamita & Mallick, Sushanta, 2017. "The right to be free: is media freedom good news for women's rights?," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(2), pages 327-355, June.
    3. Njangang, Henri & Padhan, Hemachandra & Tiwari, Aviral Kumar, 2024. "From aid to resilience: Assessing the impact of climate finance on energy vulnerability in developing countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    4. Moteng, Ghislain & Raghutla, Chandrashekar & Njangang, Henri & Nembot, Luc Ndeffo, 2023. "International sanctions and energy poverty in target developing countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    5. Tékam Oumbé, Honoré & Djeunankan, Ronald & Kos A Mougnol, Alice, 2024. "Analysing the effect of foreign aid on industrialization: Evidence from Africa," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    6. Christopher Boudreaux & Anand Jha & Monica Escaleras, 2021. "Weathering the Storm: How Foreign Aid and Institutions Affect Entrepreneurship Following Natural Disasters," Papers 2104.12008, arXiv.org.
    7. Bjørnskov, Christian, 2018. "The Hayek–Friedman hypothesis on the press: is there an association between economic freedom and press freedom?," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(4), pages 617-638, August.

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