Empirical Analysis of Korea's Official Development Assistance in the Health Sector

Abstract

Has Korea contributed to the health of recipient countries so far? Are we responding appropriately to the demand for aid? To provide a basis for answering these questions, this study aims to verify whether Korea's official development assistance (ODA) has contributed to the health of its recipient countries. The data for this study were created by combining ODA data from 2004 to 2019 provided by the KOICA with health information from the 60 recipient countries, extracted from the UNDP database during the same period. This empirical analysis, showed that Korea's ODA contributed to the improvement of life expectancy in the health sector of the recipient countries, and the amount of trade with the recipient country also was positively effected. By region, life expectancy in Asia and Africa was lower which indicates the need for continuous support.