Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-hvd4g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-09T22:17:53.979Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Foreign Aid and Statehood in Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2003

Arthur A. Goldsmith
Get access

Abstract

Has foreign aid destroyed state institutions in Africa? African states depend on development assistance to conduct basic government operations, yet few of these states are well governed or effective at providing public goods. The two trends, mounting foreign aid and static or diminishing state performance, raise an obvious question: Is aid dependency contributing to misrule and state failure in Africa? Many critics argue the two phenomena are related. I find they are not. My analysis fails to show a negative association between aid receipts and two measures of democracy and economic freedom. Instead, the evidence is consistent with a small, positive relationship between aid and these indicators of state performance. Since the international community seems bent on reducing foreign aid, an important issue is how African states can maintain and improve their performance with less foreign assistance.

Type
Articles
Information
International Organization , Volume 55 , Issue 1 , Winter 2001 , pp. 123 - 148
Copyright
Copyright © The IO Foundation 2001

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ake, Claude. 1996. Democracy and Development in Africa. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution.Google Scholar
Alesina, Alberto, and Weder, Beatrice. 1999. Do Corrupt Governments Receive Less Foreign Aid? NBER Working Paper 7108. Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baker, Bruce. 1998. The Class of 1990: How Have the Autocratic Rulers of Africa Fared Under Democratisation? Third World Quarterly 19 (1):115–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berg, Eliot J. 1993. Rethinking Technical Cooperation: Reforms for Capacity Building in Africa. New York: UN Development Program.Google Scholar
Bollen, Kenneth A., and Paxton, Pamela. 2000. Subjective Measures of Political Democracy. Comparative Political Studies 33 (1):58–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bratton, Michael, and van de Walle, Nicolas. 1997. Democratic Experiments in Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bräutigam, Deborah. 2000. Aid Dependence and Governance. Stockholm: Almqvist and Wiksell International.Google Scholar
Brunetti, Aymo, and Weder, Beatrice. 1995. Political Sources of Growth: A Critical Note on Measurement. Public Choice 82 (1–2):125–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burkhart, Ross E., and Lewis-Beck, Michael S.. 1994. Comparative Democracy: The Economic Development Thesis. American Political Science Review 88 (4):903–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). 1996. Government of Canada Policy for CIDA on Human Rights, Democratization, and Good Governance. Available at ⟨http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/cida_ind.nsf/⟩.Google Scholar
Center for Systemic Peace. 1999. Major Episodes of Political Violence. Available at ⟨http://members.aol.com/cspmgm/cspframe.htm⟩.Google Scholar
Cohen, John M. 1995. Ethnicity, Foreign Aid, and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Kenya. Harvard Institute for International Development, Development Paper No. 520. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Institute for International Development.Google Scholar
Collier, Paul, and Hoeffler, Anke. 1998. On Economic Causes of Civil War. Oxford Economic Papers 50:563–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crawford, Gordon. 1997. Foreign Aid and Political Conditionally: Issues of Effectiveness and Consistency. Democratization 4 (3):69–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Department for International Development (DFID). 1997. Eliminating World Poverty: A Challenge for the 21st Century. Available at ⟨http://www.dfid.gov.uk/public/who/who_frame.html/⟩.Google Scholar
Derbyshire, J. Denis, and Derbyshire, Ian. 1996. Political Systems of the World. 2d ed. New York: St. Martin's Press.Google Scholar
Derksen, Wilfried. 1999. Electoral Web Sites. Available at ⟨http://www.agora.stm.it/elections/info.htm⟩.Google Scholar
Devarajan, Shanta, Dollar, David, and Holmgren, Torgny. 1999. Aid and Reform in Africa: Lessons from Ten Case Studies. Available at ⟨http://www.worldbank.org/research/aid/africa/⟩.Google Scholar
Development Assistance Committee (DAC). 1999. DAC Statistics. Available at ⟨http://www.oecd.org/dac/htm/dacstats.htm/⟩.Google Scholar
Durham, J. Benson. 1999. Economic Growth and Political Regimes. Journal of Economic Growth 4 (1):81–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). 1998. Final Communiqué—Second African Governance Forum, 25–26 June, Accra, Ghana. Available at ⟨http://www.un.org/Depts/eca/news/finalc.htm/⟩.Google Scholar
Elkins, Zachery. 2000. Gradations of Democracy? Empirical Tests of Alternative Conceptualizations. American Journal of Political Science 44 (2):287–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fedderke, Johannes, and Klitgaard, Robert. 1998. Economic Growth and Social Indicators: An Exploratory Analysis. Economic Development and Cultural Change 46 (3):455–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feng, Yi. 1996. Democracy and Growth: The Sub-Saharan African Case, 1960–1992. Review of Black Political Economy 25 (1):95–126.Google Scholar
Freedom House. 1999. Annual Survey of Freedom Country Scores. Available at ⟨http://www.freedomhouse.org.rankings.pdf/⟩.Google Scholar
Gasiorowski, Mark J. 2000. Democracy and Macroeconomic Performance in Underdeveloped Countries. Comparative Political Studies 33 (3):319–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldsmith, Arthur A. 2000a. Risk, Rule, and Reason: Leadership in Africa. Prepared for Conference on African Governance and Civil Society: Equity, Efficiency, and Participation, 10–11 March, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.Google Scholar
Goldsmith, Arthur A. 2000b. Sizing up the African State. Journal of Modem African Studies 38 (1):1–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gwartney, James, and Lawson, Robert. 2000. Economic Freedom of the World: 2000 Annual Report. Vancouver, B.C.: Fraser Institute.Google Scholar
Hansen, Henrik, and Tarp, Finn. 2000. Aid Effectiveness Disputed. In Foreign Aid and Development, edited by Tarp, Finn. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Helliwell, John F. 1994. Empirical Linkages Between Democracy and Economic Growth. British Journal of Political Science 24 (2):225–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herbst, Jeffrey. 1996. Responding to State Failure in Africa. International Security 21 (3):120–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hirschman, Albert O. 1991. The Rhetoric of Reaction: Perversity, Futility, Jeopardy. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hook, Steven W. 1998. Building Democracy Through Foreign Aid: The Limitations of United States Political Conditionalities. Democratization 5 (3):156–80.Google Scholar
International Monetary Fund (IMF). 1997. Good Governance: The IMF's Role. Available at ⟨http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/exerp./govern/⟩.Google Scholar
Jackson, Robert H. 1992. Juridical Statehood in Sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of International Affairs 46 (1):1–16.Google Scholar
Joseph, Richard. 1997. Democratization in Africa After 1989: Comparative and Theoretical Perspectives. Comparative Politics 29 (3):363–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kapur, Devesh, and Webb, Richard. 2000. Governance-Related Conditionalities of the IFIs. Revision of paper prepared for the XII Technical Group Meeting of the Intergovernmental Group of 24 for International Monetary Affairs, 1–3 March, Lima, Peru.Google Scholar
Killick, Tony, with Gunatilaka, Ramani, and Marr, Ana. 1998. Aid and the Political Economy of Policy Change. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Porta, La, Rafael, Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes, Shleifer, Andrei, and Vishny, Robert W.. 1999. The Quality of Government. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 15 (1):222–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lancaster, Carol. 1999. Aid to Africa. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Landell-Mills, Pierre. 1992. Governance, Cultural Change, and Empowerment. Journal of Modern African Studies 30 (4):543–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leblang, David A. 1997. Political Democracy and Economic Growth: Pooled Cross-sectional and Time-series Evidence. British Journal of Political Science 27 (3):453–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis, Peter M. 1992. Political Transitions and the Dilemma of Civil Society. Journal of International Affairs 46 (1):31–54.Google Scholar
Londegran, John B., and Poole, Keith T.. 1996. Does High Income Promote Democracy? World Politics 49 (1):1–30.Google Scholar
Mbaku, John M. 1994. The Political Economy of Development: An Empirical Analysis of the Effect of the Institutional Framework on Economic Development. Studies in Comparative International Development 29:3–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minier, Jenny A. 1998. Democracy and Growth: Alternative Approaches. Journal of Economic Growth 3 (3):241–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, Mick. 1998. Death Without Taxes: Democracy, State Capacity, and Aid Dependence in the Fourth World. In The Democratic Developmental State, edited by Robinson, Mark and White, Gordon, 84–121. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ndulu, Benno J., and O'Connell, Stephen A.. 1999. Governance and Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Economic Perspectives 13 (3):41–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, Michael A., and Singh, Ram D.. 1998. Democracy, Economic Freedom, Fiscal Policy, and Growth in LDCs: A Fresh Look. Economic Development and Cultural Change 46 (4):677–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nohlen, Dieter, Krennerich, Michael, and Thibaut, Bernhard, eds. 1999. Elections in Africa: A Data Handbook. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olson, Gorm Rye. 1998. Europe and the Promotion of Democracy in Post–Cold War Africa. African Affairs 97:343–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Organization of African Unity (OAU). 1992. Resolution of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, 28th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of States and Government of the OAU, 29 June–1 July, Dakar, Senegal. Available at ⟨http://www.umn.edu/humanrts/africa/oauactions.html/⟩.Google Scholar
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 1993. DAC Orientations on Participatory Development and Good Governance. Paris: OECD.Google Scholar
Piveteau, Alain. 1998. Les ONG au Burkina Faso: de la réputation à l'évaluation. Afrique Contemporaire 188:71–84.Google Scholar
Przeworski, Adam, and Limongi, Fernando. 1997. Democracy and Development. In Democracy's Victory and Crisis, edited by Hadenius, Axel, 163–94. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reno, William. 1998. Warlord Politics and African States. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwalbenberg, H. M. 1998. Does Foreign Aid Cause the Adoption of Harmful Economic Policies? Journal of Policy Modeling 20 (5):669–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Serieux, John. 1999. Democratization and Structural Adjustment in Africa: An Empirical Investigation. Canadian Journal of Development Studies 20 (3):521–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
State Failure Task Force. 1999. Internal Wars and Failures of Governance, 1954–1996. Available at ⟨http://www.bsos.umd.edu/cidcm/stfail/sftable.htm/⟩.Google Scholar
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). 1999. Yearbook. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
United Nations Development Program (UNDP). 1999. Human Development Report. Available at ⟨http://www.undp.org/hdro/⟩.Google Scholar
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 1998. UNHCR Statistics 1998 Overview. Available at ⟨http://www.unhcr.ch/statist/98oview/tab1_2.htm.⟩Google Scholar
Van de Walle, Nicolas. 1999. Economic Reform in a Democratizing Africa. Comparative Politics 32 (1):21–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vanhanen, Tatu. 1999. Domestic Ethnic Conflict and Ethnic Nepotism: A Comparative Analysis. Journal of Peace Research 36 (1):55–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, T. Y. 1998. Arms Transfers and Coups d'État: A Study on Sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Peace Research 35 (6):659–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wickrama, K. A. S., and Mulford, Charles L.. 1996. Political Democracy, Economic Development, Disarticulation, and Social Well-being in Developing Countries. Sociological Quarterly 37 (3):375–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Widner, Jennifer A. 1995. States and Statelessness in Late Twentieth-Century Africa. Daedalus 124 (3): 129–53.Google Scholar
World Bank. 1994. Governance: The World Bank Experience. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank. 1997. World Development Report 1997: The State in a Changing World. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
World Bank. 1998a. African Development Indicators 1998/99. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank. 1998b. Assessing Aid: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
World Bank. 1999a. Annual Report 1999. Available at ⟨http://www.worldbank.org/html/extpb/annrep/index.htm/⟩.Google Scholar
World Bank. 1999b. Global Development Finance. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank. 1999c. World Development Indicators. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.Google Scholar