IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/jintdv/v33y2021i4p717-751.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of foreign aid on economic development: A systematic literature review and content analysis of the top 50 most influential papers

Author

Listed:
  • Ziyoda Asatullaeva
  • Reza Fathollah Zadeh Aghdam
  • Nisar Ahmad
  • Laylo Tashpulatova

Abstract

The effectiveness of foreign aid in stimulating economic development is a topic of intense debate in the scientific community and among policy analysts. Numerous empirical studies are devoted to investigating the impact of foreign aid on the economic growth/development of recipient countries. This study reviews the literature relevant to this debate using the bibliometric data of scholarly papers in the Scopus database. Our intention is to identify the trends of publications, their geographical distribution and the most influential journals, authors and articles in this field of research.

Suggested Citation

  • Ziyoda Asatullaeva & Reza Fathollah Zadeh Aghdam & Nisar Ahmad & Laylo Tashpulatova, 2021. "The impact of foreign aid on economic development: A systematic literature review and content analysis of the top 50 most influential papers," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(4), pages 717-751, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jintdv:v:33:y:2021:i:4:p:717-751
    DOI: 10.1002/jid.3543
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3543
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/jid.3543?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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).
    2. Eskander Alvi & Aberra Senbeta, 2012. "Does Foreign Aid Reduce Poverty?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(8), pages 955-976, November.
    3. John Ssozi & Simplice Asongu & Voxi Heinrich Amavilah, 2019. "The effectiveness of development aid for agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 46(2), pages 284-305, March.
    4. Sebastian Edwards, 2015. "Economic Development and the Effectiveness of Foreign Aid: A Historical Perspective," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(3), pages 277-316, August.
    5. repec:bla:apacel:v:20:y:2006:i::p:1-17 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Axel Dreher & Andreas Fuchs, 2015. "Rogue aid? An empirical analysis of China's aid allocation," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 48(3), pages 988-1023, August.
    7. Nisar Ahmad & Angeliki N. Menegaki & Saeed Al‐Muharrami, 2020. "Systematic Literature Review Of Tourism Growth Nexus: An Overview Of The Literature And A Content Analysis Of 100 Most Influential Papers," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(5), pages 1068-1110, December.
    8. Alesina, Alberto & Dollar, David, 2000. "Who Gives Foreign Aid to Whom and Why?," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 33-63, March.
    9. Ahmad, Nisar & Aghdam, Reza FathollahZadeh & Butt, Irfan & Naveed, Amjad, 2020. "Citation-based systematic literature review of energy-growth nexus: An overview of the field and content analysis of the top 50 influential papers," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    10. Emmanuel Kumi & Muazu Ibrahim & Thomas Yeboah, 2017. "Aid, Aid Volatility and Sectoral Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Does Finance Matter?," Journal of African Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(4), pages 435-456, October.
    11. Jones, Sam & Tarp, Finn, 2016. "Does foreign aid harm political institutions?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 266-281.
    12. Young, Andrew T. & Sheehan, Kathleen M., 2014. "Foreign aid, institutional quality, and growth," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 195-208.
    13. P. Guillaumont & L. Chauvet, 2001. "Aid and Performance: A Reassessment," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(6), pages 66-92.
    14. Nisar Ahmad & Amjad Naveed & Shabbir Ahmad & Irfan Butt, 2020. "Banking Sector Performance, Profitability, And Efficiency: A Citation‐Based Systematic Literature Review," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(1), pages 185-218, February.
    15. Arndt, Channing & Jones, Sam & Tarp, Finn, 2015. "Assessing Foreign Aid’s Long-Run Contribution to Growth and Development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 6-18.
    16. R. Lensink & H. White, 2001. "Are There Negative Returns to Aid?," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(6), pages 42-65.
    17. C-J. Dalgaard & H. Hansen, 2001. "On Aid, Growth and Good Policies," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(6), pages 17-41.
    18. David Dollar & Craig Burnside, 2000. "Aid, Policies, and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(4), pages 847-868, September.
    19. Hristos Doucouliagos & Martin Paldam, 2009. "The Aid Effectiveness Literature: The Sad Results Of 40 Years Of Research," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(3), pages 433-461, July.
    20. Minoiu, Camelia & Reddy, Sanjay G., 2010. "Development aid and economic growth: A positive long-run relation," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 27-39, February.
    21. Henrik Hansen & Finn Tarp, 2000. "Aid effectiveness disputed," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(3), pages 375-398, April.
    22. Elisabeth Paul, 2006. "A Survey of the Theoretical Economic Literature on Foreign Aid," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 20(1), pages 1-17, May.
    23. Carl-Johan Dalgaard & Henrik Hansen & Finn Tarp, 2004. "On The Empirics of Foreign Aid and Growth," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 114(496), pages 191-216, June.
    24. Hansen, Henrik & Tarp, Finn, 2001. "Aid and growth regressions," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 547-570, April.
    25. Rajan, Raghuram G. & Subramanian, Arvind, 2011. "Aid, Dutch disease, and manufacturing growth," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(1), pages 106-118, January.
    26. Raghuram G. Rajan & Arvind Subramanian, 2008. "Aid and Growth: What Does the Cross-Country Evidence Really Show?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(4), pages 643-665, November.
    27. François Bourguignon & Mark Sundberg, 2007. "Aid Effectiveness – Opening the Black Box," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(2), pages 316-321, May.
    28. Simplice A. Asongu & Jacinta C. Nwachukwu, 2017. "Foreign Aid and Inclusive Development: Updated Evidence from Africa, 2005–2012," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 98(1), pages 282-298, March.
    29. 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.
    30. Fuchs, Andreas & Dreher, Axel & Nunnenkamp, Peter, 2014. "Determinants of Donor Generosity: A Survey of the Aid Budget Literature," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 172-199.
    31. David Roodman, 2007. "The Anarchy of Numbers: Aid, Development, and Cross-Country Empirics," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 21(2), pages 255-277, May.
    32. Simplice Asongu, 2016. "Reinventing Foreign Aid For Inclusive And Sustainable Development: Kuznets, Piketty And The Great Policy Reversal," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 736-755, September.
    33. Wen-Ta Chiu & Yuh-Shan Ho, 2007. "Bibliometric analysis of tsunami research," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 73(1), pages 3-17, October.
    34. Boone, Peter, 1996. "Politics and the effectiveness of foreign aid," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 289-329, February.
    35. Collier, Paul & Dollar, David, 2002. "Aid allocation and poverty reduction," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(8), pages 1475-1500, September.
    36. Simplice A. Asongu & Jacinta C. Nwachukwu, 2016. "Foreign aid and governance in Africa," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(1), pages 69-88, January.
    37. William Easterly & Ross Levine & David Roodman, 2004. "Aid, Policies, and Growth: Comment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(3), pages 774-780, June.
    38. Clist, Paul, 2011. "25Years of Aid Allocation Practice: Whither Selectivity?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 1724-1734.
    39. Simeon Djankov & Jose Montalvo & Marta Reynal-Querol, 2008. "The curse of aid," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 169-194, September.
    40. Tseday Jemaneh Mekasha & Finn Tarp, 2019. "A Meta-Analysis of Aid Effectiveness: Revisiting the Evidence," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(2), pages 5-28.
    41. Hristos Doucouliagos & Martin Paldam, 2006. "Aid Effectiveness on Accumulation: A Meta Study," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(2), pages 227-254, May.
    42. Tseday Jemaneh Mekasha & Finn Tarp, 2013. "Aid and Growth: What Meta-Analysis Reveals," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(4), pages 564-583, April.
    43. Dreher, Axel & Sturm, Jan-Egbert & Vreeland, James Raymond, 2009. "Development aid and international politics: Does membership on the UN Security Council influence World Bank decisions?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 1-18, January.
    44. Axel Dreher & Peter Nunnenkamp & Rainer Thiele, 2008. "Does US aid buy UN general assembly votes? A disaggregated analysis," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 139-164, July.
    45. Mark McGillivray & Simon Feeny & Niels Hermes & Robert Lensink, 2006. "Controversies over the impact of development aid: it works; it doesn't; it can, but that depends …," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(7), pages 1031-1050.
    46. Svensson, Jakob, 2003. "Why conditional aid does not work and what can be done about it?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 381-402, April.
    47. Cassen, Robert & ,, 1994. "Does Aid Work?: Report to an Intergovernmental Task Force," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, edition 2, number 9780198773863.
    48. Stephen Knack, 2001. "Aid Dependence and the Quality of Governance: Cross-Country Empirical Tests," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 68(2), pages 310-329, October.
    49. Younas, Javed, 2008. "Motivation for bilateral aid allocation: Altruism or trade benefits," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 661-674, September.
    50. J. Svensson, 1999. "Aid, Growth and Democracy," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(3), pages 275-297, November.
    51. Doucouliagos, Hristos & Paldam, Martin, 2011. "The ineffectiveness of development aid on growth: An update," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 399-404, June.
    52. Simeon Djankov & Jose G. Montalvo & Marta Reynal-Querol, 2006. "Does Foreign Aid Help," Cato Journal, Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 26(1), pages 1-28, Winter.
    53. Helen Milner & Dustin Tingley, 2013. "The choice for multilateralism: Foreign aid and American foreign policy," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 8(3), pages 313-341, September.
    54. Corbet, Shaen & Lucey, Brian & Urquhart, Andrew & Yarovaya, Larisa, 2019. "Cryptocurrencies as a financial asset: A systematic analysis," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 182-199.
    55. Merediz-Solà, Ignasi & Bariviera, Aurelio F., 2019. "A bibliometric analysis of bitcoin scientific production," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 294-305.
    56. Tingley, Dustin, 2010. "Donors and domestic politics: Political influences on foreign aid effort," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 40-49, February.
    57. Pierre E. Biscaye & Travis W. Reynolds & C. Leigh Anderson, 2017. "Relative Effectiveness of Bilateral and Multilateral Aid on Development Outcomes," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(4), pages 1425-1447, November.
    58. Bermeo, Sarah Blodgett, 2011. "Foreign Aid and Regime Change: A Role for Donor Intent," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(11), pages 2021-2031.
    59. Andy Sumner & Jonathan Glennie, 2015. "Growth, Poverty and Development Assistance: When Does Foreign Aid Work?," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 6(3), pages 201-211, September.
    60. T. D. Stanley, 2001. "Wheat from Chaff: Meta-analysis as Quantitative Literature Review," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(3), pages 131-150, Summer.
    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. Gnangnon, Sèna Kimm, 2023. "Effects of the Utilization of Non-Reciprocal Trade Preferences Offered by QUAD Countries on Economic Growth in Beneficiary Countries," KDI Journal of Economic Policy, Korea Development Institute (KDI), vol. 45(1), pages 33-68.
    2. Simplice Asongu & Nicholas M. Odhiambo, 2024. "The role of foreign aid in the nexus between capital flight and unemployment in sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 24/007, European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS).
    3. Menegaki, Angeliki N. & Ahmad, Nisar & Aghdam, Reza FathollahZadeh & Naz, Amber, 2021. "The convergence in various dimensions of energy-economy-environment linkages: A comprehensive citation-based systematic literature review," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    4. José María Larrú & Carlos Quesada González, 2021. "Aid, Multidimensional Poverty and Growth: Reversing the Micro-Macro Paradox in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-26, December.
    5. Hussain, Syed Mujahid & Ahmad, Nisar & Ahmed, Sheraz, 2023. "Applications of high-frequency data in finance: A bibliometric literature review," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    6. Simplice A. Asongu & Joel Hinaunye Eita, 2023. "Promoting renewable energy consumption in Sub-Saharan Africa: how capital flight crowds-out the favorable effect of foreign aid," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 23/048, African Governance and Development Institute..
    7. Gorgens, Tue & Meng, Xin & Zhao, Guochang, 2024. "Impact of Temporary Migration on Long-Run Economic Development: The Legacy of the Sent-down Youth Program," IZA Discussion Papers 16951, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Tomas Pečiulis & Nisar Ahmad & Angeliki N. Menegaki & Aqsa Bibi, 2024. "Forecasting of cryptocurrencies: Mapping trends, influential sources, and research themes," Journal of Forecasting, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(6), pages 1880-1901, September.
    9. Gnangnon, Sèna Kimm, 2021. "Effect of the Utilization of Non-Reciprocal Trade Preferences offered by the QUAD on Economic Growth in Beneficiary Countries," EconStor Preprints 242848, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    10. Mohammed Saharti & Sajid M. Chaudhry & Nisar Ahmad & Syed Mujahid Hussain, 2024. "Syndicated loans: mapping the trends, sources and intellectual evolution," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 1569-1592, May.
    11. Pradhan, Rudra P. & Bennett, Sara E. & Nair, Mahendhiran S. & Arvin, Mak B., 2023. "Does foreign aid procurement in resource-rich countries depend on these countries’ financial development and institutional quality? Evidence from PVECM and quantile-on-quantile regression," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    12. Hennessy, Jack & Mortimer, Duncan & Sweeney, Rohan & Woode, Maame Esi, 2023. "Donor versus recipient preferences for aid allocation: A systematic review of stated-preference studies," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).

    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. Tierney, Michael J. & Nielson, Daniel L. & Hawkins, Darren G. & Roberts, J. Timmons & Findley, Michael G. & Powers, Ryan M. & Parks, Bradley & Wilson, Sven E. & Hicks, Robert L., 2011. "More Dollars than Sense: Refining Our Knowledge of Development Finance Using AidData," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(11), pages 1891-1906.
    2. Juergen Bitzer & Erkan Goeren, 2018. "Foreign Aid and Subnational Development: A Grid Cell Analysis," Working Papers V-407-18, University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics, revised Mar 2018.
    3. Dreher, Axel & Lang, Valentin & Reinsberg, Bernhard, 2024. "Aid effectiveness and donor motives," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    4. 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.
    5. Patrick GUILLAUMONT, 2009. "Aid effectiveness for poverty reduction: macroeconomic overview and emerging issues," Working Papers P05, FERDI.
    6. Askarov, Zohid & Doucouliagos, Hristos, 2015. "Development Aid and Growth in Transition Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 383-399.
    7. Lessmann, Christian & Markwardt, Gunther, 2012. "Aid, Growth and Devolution," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(9), pages 1723-1749.
    8. Juliana Yael Milovich, 2018. "Does Aid Reduce Poverty?," OPHI Working Papers ophiwp122.pdf, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    9. Angeles, Luis & Neanidis, Kyriakos C., 2009. "Aid effectiveness: the role of the local elite," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 120-134, September.
    10. Rasmane Ouedraogo & Windemanegda Sandrine Sourouema & Hamidou Sawadogo, 2021. "Aid, growth and institutions in Sub‐Saharan Africa: New insights using a multiple growth regime approach," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(1), pages 107-142, January.
    11. Nuruddeen USMAN & Martins.O. APINRAN, 2019. "The Impact of Aid and Macroeconomic Policy on Growth in Nigeria: A Bounds Testing Approach," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 9(5), pages 581-603, May.
    12. Haldar, Anasuya & Sethi, Narayan, 2022. "Effect of sectoral foreign aid allocation on growth and structural transformation in sub-Saharan Africa—Analysing the roles of institutional quality and human capital," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1010-1026.
    13. Bah, El-hadj M. & Ward, Jeremy, 2011. "Effectiveness of foreign aid in Small Island Developing States," MPRA Paper 32062, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Ferreira, I.A.R. & Simoes, M.C.N., 2013. "Aid And Growth: A Comparative Study Between Sub-Saharan Africa And Asia," Applied Econometrics and International Development, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 13(1), pages 113-132.
    15. Felicitas Nowak-Lehmann D. & Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso & Dierk Herzer & Stephan Klasen & Axel Dreher, 2009. "In Search for a Long-run Relationship between Aid and Growth: Pitfalls and Findings," Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research (IAI) Discussion Papers 196, Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research.
    16. Juliana Yael Milovich, 2017. "The long-term impact of U.S. aid on poverty alleviation: the role of a seat in the Security Council of the United Nations," EconomiX Working Papers 2017-47, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    17. Balázs Szent-Iványi, 2015. "Are Democratising Countries Rewarded with Higher Levels of Foreign Aid?," Acta Oeconomica, Akadémiai Kiadó, Hungary, vol. 65(4), pages 593-615, December.
    18. Feeny, Simon & de Silva, Ashton, 2012. "Measuring absorptive capacity constraints to foreign aid," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 725-733.
    19. Roland Hodler & David S. Knight, 2012. "Ethnic Fractionalisation and Aid Effectiveness," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 21(1), pages 65-93, January.
    20. Almuth Scholl, 2009. "Aid Effectiveness and Limited Enforceable Conditionality," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 12(2), pages 377-391, April.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:wly:jintdv:v:33:y:2021:i:4:p:717-751. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/5102/home .

    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.