IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/atlecj/v47y2019i4d10.1007_s11293-019-09645-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How Effective Is Foreign Aid at Improving Health Outcomes in Recipient Countries?

Author

Listed:
  • Mohammad Usama Toseef

    (Wayne State University. Faculty/Administration Bldg
    Wayne State University)

  • Gail A Jensen

    (Wayne State University. Faculty/Administration Bldg
    Wayne State University)

  • Wassim Tarraf

    (Wayne State University
    Wayne State University)

Abstract

Since the United Nations’ establishment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000 the world has observed an increasing trend in foreign aid provided by more affluent countries to developing nations. This paper examined whether foreign aid (total foreign aid and health sector aid) has been effective in improving the health of citizens in recipient nations since establishment of the MDGs. Five facets of population health were examined: infant mortality, life expectancy, the annual death rate, and immunizations against measles and diphtheria. Using a panel data set covering 90 developing countries, observed annually over 2001–2015, fixed-effects multivariate regressions with alternative specifications were estimated for each of these measures. The findings reveal that foreign aid has had little to no effect on population health since 2000. We found some evidence that foreign aid has improved life expectancy in developing countries, however, the effect is very small. In light of these findings, continued monitoring of the relationship between foreign aid and health outcomes would be both valuable and prudent.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohammad Usama Toseef & Gail A Jensen & Wassim Tarraf, 2019. "How Effective Is Foreign Aid at Improving Health Outcomes in Recipient Countries?," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 47(4), pages 429-444, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:atlecj:v:47:y:2019:i:4:d:10.1007_s11293-019-09645-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s11293-019-09645-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11293-019-09645-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11293-019-09645-2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hansen, Lars Peter, 1982. "Large Sample Properties of Generalized Method of Moments Estimators," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(4), pages 1029-1054, July.
    2. David Roodman, 2009. "How to do xtabond2: An introduction to difference and system GMM in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 9(1), pages 86-136, March.
    3. Richard Blundell & Stephen Bond, 2000. "GMM Estimation with persistent panel data: an application to production functions," Econometric Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 321-340.
    4. Roland Hodler, 2007. "Rent seeking and aid effectiveness," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 14(5), pages 525-541, October.
    5. James D. Gwartney & Robert A. Lawson & Randall G. Holcombe, 1999. "Economic Freedom and the Environment for Economic Growth," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 155(4), pages 643-643, December.
    6. Mishra, Prachi & Newhouse, David, 2009. "Does health aid matter?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 855-872, July.
    7. David Roodman, 2006. "How to Do xtabond2," North American Stata Users' Group Meetings 2006 8, Stata Users Group.
    8. Kosack, Stephen, 2003. "Effective Aid: How Democracy Allows Development Aid to Improve the Quality of Life," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 1-22, January.
    9. Simon Feeny & Bazoumana Ouattara, 2013. "The effects of health aid on child health promotion in developing countries: cross-country evidence," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(7), pages 911-919, March.
    10. Karuna Gomanee & Sourafel Girma & Oliver Morrissey, 2005. "Aid, public spending and human welfare: evidence from quantile regressions," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(3), pages 299-309.
    11. Boone, Peter, 1996. "Politics and the effectiveness of foreign aid," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 289-329, February.
    12. Kosack, Stephen & Tobin, Jennifer, 2006. "Funding Self-Sustaining Development: The Role of Aid, FDI and Government in Economic Success," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 60(1), pages 205-243, January.
    13. Claudia R. Williamson, 2008. "Foreign Aid and Human Development: The Impact of Foreign Aid to the Health Sector," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 75(1), pages 188-207, July.
    14. Wilson, Sven E., 2011. "Chasing Success: Health Sector Aid and Mortality," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(11), pages 2032-2043.
    15. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    16. Windmeijer, Frank, 2005. "A finite sample correction for the variance of linear efficient two-step GMM estimators," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 126(1), pages 25-51, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Isiaq Oseni & Ibrahim Odusanya & Sakiru Akinbode, 2022. "Effectiveness of Foreign Aid for Health in Reducing HIV Prevalence in Sub-Saharan Africa," South-Eastern Europe Journal of Economics, Association of Economic Universities of South and Eastern Europe and the Black Sea Region, vol. 20(2), pages 141-158.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Thomas Ziesemer, 2016. "The Impact of Development Aid on Education and Health: Survey and New Evidence for Low‐income Countries from Dynamic Models," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(8), pages 1358-1380, November.
    2. Yousuf, Ahmed Sadek, 2012. "Assessing Impact of Health Oriented Aid on Infant Mortality Rates," EconStor Preprints 67391, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    3. 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.
    4. Yousuf, Ahmed Sadek, 2012. "Impact of Health Aid on Infant Mortality Rate," MPRA Paper 42945, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 12 Oct 2012.
    5. Gertjan Dordmond & Heder Carlos Oliveira & Ivair Ramos Silva & Julia Swart, 2021. "The complexity of green job creation: An analysis of green job development in Brazil," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 723-746, January.
    6. Mohn, Klaus & Misund, Bård, 2009. "Investment and uncertainty in the international oil and gas industry," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 240-248, March.
    7. Kar, Ashim Kumar, 2016. "Aid and Human Development: Is There A Role for Good Policy Environment?," MPRA Paper 95433, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2018.
    8. Ssozi, John & Amlani, Shirin, 2015. "The Effectiveness of Health Expenditure on the Proximate and Ultimate Goals of Healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 165-179.
    9. Łukasz Goczek, 2012. "Metody ekonometryczne w modelach wzrostu gospodarczego," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 10, pages 49-71.
    10. 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).
    11. Han, Lu & Koenig-Archibugi, Mathias, 2015. "Aid Fragmentation or Aid Pluralism? The Effect of Multiple Donors on Child Survival in Developing Countries, 1990–2010," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 344-358.
    12. Dierk Herzer, 2019. "The long-run effect of aid on health: evidence from panel cointegration analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(12), pages 1319-1338, March.
    13. Zheng, Xinye & Li, Fanghua & Song, Shunfeng & Yu, Yihua, 2013. "Central government's infrastructure investment across Chinese regions: A dynamic spatial panel data approach," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 264-276.
    14. Tadadjeu, Sosson & Njangang, Henri & Asongu, Simplice A. & Kamguia, Brice, 2023. "Natural resources, child mortality and governance quality in African countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    15. Quader, Syed Manzur, 2017. "Differential effect of liquidity constraints on firm growth," Review of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 20-29.
    16. Harald Oberhofer & Marian Schwinner, 2017. "Do Individual Salaries Depend On the Performance of the Peers? Prototype Heuristic and Wage Bargaining in the NBA," WIFO Working Papers 534, WIFO.
    17. Vusal Musayev, 2016. "Externalities in Military Spending and Growth: The Role of Natural Resources as a Channel through Conflict," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(3), pages 378-391, June.
    18. Piper, Alan T., 2014. "An Investigation into Happiness, Dynamics and Adaptation," MPRA Paper 57778, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Jaunky, Vishal Chandr, 2013. "A cointegration and causality analysis of copper consumption and economic growth in rich countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 628-639.
    20. Afridi, Muhammad Asim & Ventelou, Bruno, 2013. "Impact of health aid in developing countries: The public vs. the private channels," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 759-765.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:atlecj:v:47:y:2019:i:4:d:10.1007_s11293-019-09645-2. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.