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Always Vote for Principle, Though You May Vote Alone: Explaining United States Political Support for Multilateral Development Loans

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  • Strand, Jonathan R.
  • Zappile, Tina M.

Abstract

What motivates the U.S. when casting votes and to what degree does its formal influence matter in final outcomes in multilateral development banks? We first assess the formal influence of the U.S. on final decisions and find that 64% of projects lacking U.S. support were nevertheless approved, suggesting U.S. influence is not as strong as previously thought. We then test several hypotheses explaining how the U.S. votes on projects in MDBs. We find recipient need is strongly related to U.S. support and some evidence for both economic and political factors, such as trade relations and human rights.

Suggested Citation

  • Strand, Jonathan R. & Zappile, Tina M., 2015. "Always Vote for Principle, Though You May Vote Alone: Explaining United States Political Support for Multilateral Development Loans," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 224-239.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:72:y:2015:i:c:p:224-239
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2015.02.013
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    Cited by:

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    2. Marco FRIGERIO & Daniela VANDONE, 2018. "Virtuous or Vicious? Development Banks in Europe," Departmental Working Papers 2018-07, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    3. Erasmus Kersting & Christopher Kilby, 2021. "Do domestic politics shape U.S. influence in the World Bank?," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 29-58, January.
    4. Qian, Jing & Vreeland, James R & Zhao, Jianzhi J, 2024. "In-Group Punishment in International Relations: U.S. Reactions to the Founding of China’s AIIB," Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, Working Paper Series qt3b86x9v6, Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, University of California.
    5. Jonathan R. Strand & Kenneth J. Retzl, 2016. "Did Recent Voice Reforms Improve Good Governance within the World Bank?," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 47(3), pages 415-445, May.

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