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Aid Illusion and Public Sector Behaviour

Author

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  • M. McGillvray
  • O. Morrissey

Abstract

Conventional treatments of fungibility, such as in Assessing Aid, are concerned with evidence that aid recipients do not increase sufficiently (that is, by the amount of aid) expenditure on specific areas favoured by donors. In other words, fungibility implies that recipients divert aid to expenditure on areas donors do not wish to fund. However, there is evidence that aggregate expenditure, and even spending on donor-supported areas, rises by more than the value of the aid inflow. This contribution, using insights from the public choice research on fiscal illusion, provides a range of theoretical scenarios to explain this outcome. Included are scenarios where, even where all the features of fungibility are present, expenditure on areas favoured by the donor can increase by more than the value of the aid inflow. The study concludes by suggesting new directions for research on aid policy and the impact of aid on the public sector in developing countries.

Suggested Citation

  • M. McGillvray & O. Morrissey, 2001. "Aid Illusion and Public Sector Behaviour," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(6), pages 118-136.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:37:y:2001:i:6:p:118-136
    DOI: 10.1080/713601086
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Paul Clist & Alessia Isopi & Oliver Morrissey, 2012. "Selectivity on aid modality: Determinants of budget support from multilateral donors," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 7(3), pages 267-284, September.
    2. Richard Chisik & Nazanin Behzadan & Harun Onder & Apurva Sanghi, 2016. "Aid, Remittances, the Dutch Disease, Refugees, and Kenya," Working Papers 062, Toronto Metropolitan University, Department of Economics.
    3. Łukasz Marć, 2017. "The Impact of Aid on Total Government Expenditures: New Evidence on Fungibility," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 627-663, August.
    4. Rana, Zunera & Koch, Dirk-Jan, 2020. "Why fungibility of development aid can be good news: Pakistan case study," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    5. repec:rye:wpaper:wp071 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Feeny, Simon & McGillivray, Mark, 2010. "Aid and public sector fiscal behaviour in failing states," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 1006-1016, September.
    7. Lukasz Marc, 2012. "New Evidence on Fungibility at the Aggregate Level," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 12-083/2, Tinbergen Institute.
    8. Boriana Yontcheva & Mrs. Nadia Masud, 2005. "Does Foreign Aid Reduce Poverty? Empirical Evidence from Nongovernmental and Bilateral Aid," IMF Working Papers 2005/100, International Monetary Fund.
    9. Oliver Morrissey, 2012. "Aid and Government Fiscal Behaviour: What Does the Evidence Say?," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2012-001, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    10. Eckel, Catherine C. & Grossman, Philip J. & Johnston, Rachel M., 2005. "An experimental test of the crowding out hypothesis," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(8), pages 1543-1560, August.
    11. Epstein, Gil S. & Gang, Ira N., 2009. "Good governance and good aid allocation," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 12-18, May.
    12. 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.
    13. Tony Addison & George Mavrotas & Mark McGillivray, 2005. "Aid, Debt Relief and New Sources of Finance for Meeting the Millennium Development Goals," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2005-09, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    14. Joseph L. Dieleman & Michael Hanlon, 2014. "Measuring The Displacement And Replacement Of Government Health Expenditure," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(2), pages 129-140, February.
    15. Łukasz Marć, 2015. "The impact of aid on total government expenditures: New evidence on fungibility," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2015-010, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    16. Richard Chisik & Nazanin Behzadan, 2016. "Are Aid and Remittances Similar in Generating the Dutch Disease?," Working Papers 064, Ryerson University, Department of Economics.
    17. Aaron Batten, 2010. "Foreign aid, government behaviour, and fiscal policy in Papua New Guinea," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 24(2), pages 142-160, November.
    18. Morrissey, Oliver, 2015. "Aid and Government Fiscal Behavior: Assessing Recent Evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 98-105.
    19. Simon Feeny & Mark McGillivray, 2002. "Aid, Public Sector Fiscal Behaviour and Developing Country Debt," WIDER Working Paper Series DP2002-40, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    20. Łukasz Marć, 2017. "The Impact of Aid on Total Government Expenditures: New Evidence on Fungibility," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 627-663, August.
    21. Temple, Jonathan R.W., 2010. "Aid and Conditionality," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Dani Rodrik & Mark Rosenzweig (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 4415-4523, Elsevier.
    22. Joseph L. Dieleman & Casey M. Graves & Michael Hanlon, 2013. "The Fungibility of Health Aid: Reconsidering the Reconsidered," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(12), pages 1755-1762, December.
    23. Gil S. Epstein & Ira N Gang, 2006. "The Hope for Hysteresis in Foreign Aid," Departmental Working Papers 200628, Rutgers University, Department of Economics.
    24. Morrissey, Oliver, 2012. "Aid and Government Fiscal Behaviour: What Does the Evidence Say?," WIDER Working Paper Series 001, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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