The Determinants of Japanese Official Development Assistance in Africa: A Pooled Time Series Analysis

Abstract

This study seeks to explain the variation in Japanese official development assistance (ODA) in 35 African countries for the period of 1979 and 1998. It tests for the effects of several new variables not examined previously in the quantitative aid literature on Africa, including human rights, democracy, and varied U.S. strategic and economic interests. The findings suggest that humanitarian interests, as measured by poverty, human rights, democracy, and food insecurity, figure prominently in Japanese aid decisions. In addition, we find that Japan's trade with recipient countries and some U.S. security interests have shaped the pattern of Japanese ODA in Africa, although U.S. economic reform initiatives and oil exports were found to have little effect. While previous studies have emphasized the importance of Japanese national economic interests as determinants of ODA disbursements, our results suggest that humanitarian concern and certain U.S. strategic interests are also important in understanding Japanese aid decisions in Africa.