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Financial Dependence and Aid Allocation by Swiss NGOs: A Panel Tobit Analysis

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  • Axel Dreher
  • Peter Nunnenkamp
  • Hannes Öhler
  • Johannes Weisser

Abstract

Aid by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) is still widely believed to be superior to official development assistance (ODA). However, the incentives of NGOs to excel and target aid to the poor and deserving are increasingly disputed. We contribute to the emerging literature on the allocation of NGO aid by performing panel Tobit estimations for Swiss NGOs. We cover the allocation of both self-financed and officially cofinanced aid for a large panel of NGOs and recipient countries. Furthermore, we offer new insights by classifying each NGO according to its financing structure and by interacting financial dependence with measures of need and merit of recipients as well as aid from other donors. It turns out that the allocation of NGO aid is much in line with that of ODA. This applies particularly to officially refinanced NGOs. Moreover, NGOs tend to locate where their peers are active. However, the poverty orientation of NGOs and their incentives to engage in difficult environments are independent of the degree of official refinancing. The allocation of self-financed aid differs in several important respects from the allocation of officially cofinanced aid.

Suggested Citation

  • Axel Dreher & Peter Nunnenkamp & Hannes Öhler & Johannes Weisser, 2012. "Financial Dependence and Aid Allocation by Swiss NGOs: A Panel Tobit Analysis," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 60(4), pages 829-867.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:ecdecc:doi:10.1086/665601
    DOI: 10.1086/665601
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    4. John‐Michael Davis & Liam Swiss, 2020. "Need, Merit, Self‐Interest or Convenience? Exploring Aid Allocation Motives of Grassroots International NGOs," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(8), pages 1324-1345, November.
    5. Andrea Filippo Presbitero, 2013. "Aid and Vulnerability," Mo.Fi.R. Working Papers 88, Money and Finance Research group (Mo.Fi.R.) - Univ. Politecnica Marche - Dept. Economic and Social Sciences.
    6. Iku Yoshimoto, . "Globalized production processes and foreign governmental lobbies: Analysing the United States Foreign Agents Registration Act reports," UNCTAD Transnational Corporations Journal, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    7. Dreher, Axel & Fuchs, Andreas & Parks, Bradley & Strange, Austin M. & Tierney, Michael J., 2016. "Apples and Dragon Fruits: The Determinants of Aid and Other Forms of State Financing from China to Africa," Working Papers 0620, University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics.
    8. Andreas Fuchs & Hannes Öhler, 2021. "Does private aid follow the flag? An empirical analysis of humanitarian assistance," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(3), pages 671-705, March.
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