Publications
Publications
- 2007
- HBS Working Paper Series
How Is Foreign Aid Spent? Evidence from a Natural Experiment
By: Eric D. Werker, Faisal Z. Ahmed and Charles Cohen
Abstract
We use oil price fluctuations to construct a new instrument to test the impact of transfers from wealthy OPEC nations to their poorer Muslim allies. The instrument identifies plausibly exogenous variation in foreign aid. We investigate how aid is spent by tracking its short-run effect on aggregate demand, the national accounts, and the balance of payments. Aid has no measurable impact on prices or economic growth, though it does affect most components of the national income accounts. We find that much aid is consumed, primarily in the form of imported non-capital goods. Aid substitutes for domestic savings, has no effect on the financial account, and leads to unaccounted capital flight.
Keywords
Citation
Werker, Eric D., Faisal Z. Ahmed, and Charles Cohen. "How Is Foreign Aid Spent? Evidence from a Natural Experiment." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 07-074, April 2007. (Revised December 2007, July 2008.)