Impact of Sectoral Allocation of Foreign Aid on Gender Equity and Human Development

UNU/WIDER Working Paper No. 2013/066

25 Pages Posted: 20 Aug 2015

See all articles by Lynda Pickbourn

Lynda Pickbourn

Hampshire College

Leonce Ndikumana

University of Massachusetts at Amherst; University of Cape Town, School of Economics; University of Stellenbosch, Department of Economics

Date Written: June 1, 2013

Abstract

While developing countries have made some progress in achieving human development since the turn of the century, many are still lagging behind in important human development goals such as education, health, nutrition and access to clean drinking water and improved sanitation. Moreover, gender equity remains a major challenge in most countries. In this paper, we examine the role that foreign aid plays in generating these outcomes, using panel data from OECD/DAC on the sectoral allocation of development aid, in conjunction with country-level data on public expenditures, human development outcomes and other economic, social and political indicators. Specifically, the paper attempts to assess whether the volume of aid and its sectoral allocation have an impact on human development outcomes and gender equity. We find that the impact of aid on many of the outcomes we study is largely dependent on initial levels of human development and per capita income. The results on the impact of aid vary by type of development outcome. While aid appears to be effective in reducing maternal mortality as well as the gender gap in youth literacy regardless of initial conditions, its effects are at best mixed for other indicators. The paper points to a number of policy issues that deserve further investigation.

Keywords: Foreign aid; human development; gender equity; education; health

JEL Classification: O1; O2; D0; E0

Suggested Citation

Pickbourn, Lynda and Ndikumana, Leonce, Impact of Sectoral Allocation of Foreign Aid on Gender Equity and Human Development (June 1, 2013). UNU/WIDER Working Paper No. 2013/066, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2647165 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2647165

Lynda Pickbourn

Hampshire College ( email )

West St
Amherst, MA 01002
United States

Leonce Ndikumana (Contact Author)

University of Massachusetts at Amherst ( email )

200 Hicks Way
Dept of Economics, University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003
United States
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413-577-0261 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.umass.edu/economics/ndikumana.html

University of Cape Town, School of Economics ( email )

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Rondebosch, Cape Town 7701
South Africa

University of Stellenbosch, Department of Economics ( email )

South Africa

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