International Development Aid Research Articles

Reshaping an issue-based field: assessing the impact of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) on the global development aid agenda

PurposeThe paper studies how the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) positioned itself in the process through which capacity building in developing countries was interpreted and enacted within the global development aid agenda from 1999 to 2016.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is an in-depth case study drawing on a comprehensive analysis of publications, reports and archival materials.FindingsThe paper unveils how IFAC shaped the interpretation of capacity building and its associated practices in a manner aligned with its expansionary aims thereby transforming itself into a prominent actor within, what we term, the capacity building issue-based field. It unpacks the strategies pursued by IFAC as it mobilised economic, social and cultural resources in support of its global capacity building ambitions for the accountancy profession. It reveals how key interactions between actors in the international development exchange field and the professional exchange field of accounting underpinned IFAC’s infiltration of, and impact on the evolution of, the capacity building issue-based field. We show how IFAC increased its influence in this field despite initially operating on the periphery of the global development aid agenda.Practical implicationsThe paper reveals how the global accountancy profession’s engagement with the capacity building activities of international development agencies became central to its commitment to serving the public interest. Our analysis suggests that deeper explorations of capacity building by the global accountancy profession in specific developing countries are required in order to determine whether these efforts have effectively catered to the needs of the citizens of those countries.Originality/valueThe work of professional accountancy organizations (PAOs) operating at the global level in the area of capacity building has been addressed in a fragmented fashion in prior research. This paper presents a unique analysis of developing alliances between the global accountancy profession and international aid agencies aimed at supporting the globalising efforts of IFAC within the realm of capacity building in international development aid. Theoretically, the paper advances prior work exploring the evolution of issue-based fields, in particular the role of inter-field relations in interstitial spaces within these processes.

LESSONS FROM THE MARSHALL PLAN FOR UKRAINE’S POST-WAR RECOVERY

This article presents a comprehensive discourse analysis of the Marshall Plan’s administration, shedding light on a facet of history that has often been overlooked in favor of discussions on aid effectiveness and outcomes. Central to our inquiry is the hypothesis that the institutionalization of U.S. foreign aid, initiated with the Marshall Plan, played a critical role in its success and laid the foundation for future aid initiatives. By focusing on the administrative strategies and decision-making processes, the study offers novel insights into how these elements contributed to the Plan’s effectiveness and the overall evolution of U.S. foreign aid policy. The analysis draws on a variety of primary sources, including historical documents, speeches, and policy papers, to provide a detailed picture of the Plan’s implementation. In doing so, we unveil the complex dynamics and challenges of post-war recovery efforts and the strategic decisions that shaped them. The findings reveal the intricacies of the Marshall Plan’s administration and provide valuable lessons for contemporary policy discourse, particularly in the context of Ukraine’s ongoing recovery and its significance to Kyiv’s international partners. This study contributes to the existing body of literature by offering a nuanced understanding of the Marshall Plan’s legacy and its enduring impact on international development and foreign aid. It serves as a vital resource for policymakers, scholars, and practitioners engaged in shaping effective and sustainable foreign aid programs in the modern era. This study also examines the evolution of U.S. foreign aid from the mid-19th century technical missions to the modern era, highlighting key changes in aid administration and objectives. By tracing this evolution, it contextualizes the Marshall Plan within the broader narrative of U.S. international development policy. The role of the Truman administration in shaping the plan and its broader foreign policy implications, including containment of communism and promotion of democracy, are critically analyzed. This article thus fills a gap in the literature by offering a comprehensive view of the Marshall Plan’s administration and its lasting influence on U.S. foreign aid policy.

Understanding HPV Vaccination Policymaking in Rwanda: A Case of Health Prioritization and Public-Private-Partnership in a Low-Resource Setting

Rwanda is the first African country to implement a national HPV vaccination program in 2011. This study sought to clarify the HPV vaccination policymaking process in Rwanda through the lens of Kingdon’s multiple stream framework and Foucault’s concept of governmentality. Perspectives of policymakers engaged in HPV vaccination policy were gathered from published sources, along with key informant interviews. Rwanda’s track record of successful vaccination programs enabled by a culture of local accountability created public and private sector incentives. Effective stakeholder engagement, health priority setting, and resource mobilization garnered locally and through international development aid, reflect indicators of policy success. The national HPV policymaking process in Rwanda unfolded in a relatively cohesive and stable policy network. Although peripheral stakeholder resistance and a constrained national budget can present a threat to policy survival, the study shows that such factors as the engagement of policy entrepreneurs within a policy network, private sector incentives, and international aid were effective in ensuring policy resolution.

Killing a Country and Getting Away with It: Neopatrimonialism and Incurable Corruption by Political Elites Linked to International Development Aid

As some countries are increasingly locked in a state of incurable corruption, while most political elites escape lavishly any prosecution, there is a growing concern that global governance is overlooking the crimes committed by some leaders who are “killing a country and getting away with it.” This phenomenon of state capture coincides increasingly with countries heavily dependent on international development aid. It also coincides within cultures where neopatrimonialism is allowed to flourish as opposed to more modern public administration standards. Inspired by a post-colonial and broader critical perspective, but with a practice-oriented focus, this article reviews the literature related to project management methods and how they can help uncover and prevent corruption. A review of governance regimes leads to a set of models to help better contextualize development aid management and identify how evidence-gathering can be enhanced to ensure that maximum sanctions are taken against corrupt political elite.

Decentralised international development aid from municipalities: Exploring its added value, challenges and implications for international social work

This study focuses on international development aid policies implemented by municipalities. By proposing a theoretical framework and addressing the Spanish context, it first explores the added value and the challenges involved with this kind of decentralised aid. Second, it discusses the implications in terms of the competencies required by social workers in order to leverage the potential of these aid policies. The research draws on the qualitative analysis of documents, interviews and discussion groups. It concludes that international social workers need knowledge, values and skills in widely different aspects in order to overcome the challenges entailed in aid from municipalities.

Preserving indigenous minority languages through community radio in development programmes in Malawi

This study explores the extent to which two community radio stations have transcended the social development agenda and contributed to facilitating retention of indigenous cultures in the locality where they operate. In Malawi, community radio stations established and funded by international development aid agencies have become a powerful and effective tool for empowering marginalised societies in rural areas. Radio in this context acts as a medium for social mobilisation, facilitating the interface between communities and duty bearers on community social development issues. Specifically, local indigenous languages are used to ease communication challenges and increase effective public participation in local programmes that are often aired on community radio stations. Using ethnolinguistic vitality and development media as frameworks, the study analysed data on the use of broadcasting as a tool for community empowerment, education, information sharing and awareness. The findings establish that apart from amplifying indigenous voices on issues that matter to their communities, the community radio stations through social development programmes have also influenced the preservation of different cultural attributes, including languages. Thus, the article concludes that the programmes in local languages have improved the people's capacity to claim their rights and has enabled access to essential information for widespread understanding and cultural continuity.

Investigating the role of foreign capital inflows and economic freedom in poverty alleviation

Many developing countries are still suffering considerable poverty despite the enormous amounts of international development aid channeled to them. This phenomenon raises the question of what role foreign capital plays in these countries. Our study focused on the role of foreign capital (foreign direct investment and foreign aid) and economic freedom in poverty alleviation in developing and least-developed countries using panel data from 1995 to 2018 for 71 countries. We employed several econometric techniques, such as dynamic ordinary least squares, fully modified ordinary least squares, dynamic fixed effects, and pooled mean group regression methods. Furthermore, we performed the Granger causality test, tested the impulse response function, and conducted variance decomposition analysis. In our long-run estimations, we found that while foreign direct investment could significantly alleviate poverty, it increased poverty in the short run. On the other hand, foreign aid played no significant role in poverty alleviation in either the short or the long run. Moreover, to alleviate poverty, economic growth and economic freedom are essential; our findings consistently demonstrated that they play a crucial role in poverty alleviation. We also found bidirectional causality between poverty alleviation and population growth, while a unidirectional causal linkage was found from poverty alleviation to foreign aid. We conclude that policymakers should develop a new paradigm of developmental assistance, and governments should create an enabling environment for foreign investment to support their growth plan.

Перспективи розвитку співпраці України з ЄС у сфері трудової міграції

The paper is devoted to the prospects for the development of Ukraine's cooperation with the EU’s countries in the field of labor migration regulation. It is established that in current time the international labor migration is one of the most characteristic manifestations of the globalization of the world economy due to the fact that now the number of recipient countries is about 67 units in comparison with 39 units a few decades ago, while the number of donor countries has increased from 29 to 55 units. It was determined that the main reasons for such changes are: global political crises and changes in the world coordinate system. The hypothesis was proposed and confirmed that, given the objective factors, including the political and the presence of the armed conflict in the country, emigration will only increase in the near future due to the state of the economy and the desire to receive material income. The cause-and-effect relationships between migration and the socio-economic state of the economy are considered by analyzing its main indicators, among them such as: population size, birth rate, education level and retention rate. The hypothesis was put forward and proved that the amount of the earned salary is one of the reasons for voluntary dismissal or reluctance to extend the employment contract. The geographical mapping of labor migrants from Ukraine in the countries of the world was studied. Key macroeconomic variables such as GDP growth, (un)employment, remittance flows, international development aid and foreign direct investment are identified, which are crucial to understanding the effects of migration as they provide an overview of the economic situation of any country. The forecast values of GDP growth and GDP per capita of Ukraine was analysed in the context of putting forward a hypothesis regarding for the further migration tendencies. The necessity of regulating the negative consequences for the Ukrainian economy in order to counteract its decline in the future due to the decreasing in the number of economically active population in the future, which are the main producers of the country's GDP, has been established.

The Missing Fingerprints: U.S. Women Legislators and International Development Aid

AbstractThere is optimism that the growing number of women in political office will reorient the focus of international politics toward more social and humanitarian issues. One basis for this optimism is the argument that women legislators hold distinct foreign policy preferences and act on them to affect changes in policy. However, we know little about gender differences in the behavior of individual legislators on these issues. This study investigates the behavior of individual legislators of the United States, one of the most important actors in international politics, in the context of development aid. Analyzing a diverse set of legislative behaviors in the U.S. Congress, we find no evidence that women legislators behave any differently than men with regard to these issues. Beyond its contribution to our understanding of the making and future of American foreign policy, this study contributes to broader debates about women’s representation and foreign policy.

The impact of COVID-19 on international development aid and health systems strengthening in low-income countries.

Health systems play a critical role in providing services that aim to improve, promote, restore, or maintain the health of communities. Unfortunately, health systems in low-income countries are fragile, having an adverse effect on the health of the population. Whereas international development aid remains crucial in strengthening health systems in low-income countries (LICs), COVID-19 has induced changes in the dynamics in the availability, provision and access to international development aid. These changes have aggravated the already weak health systems of LICs. Understanding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the distribution of international development aid and how these effects impacted on the quality of the health systems in response to the outbreak is critical to improving the health of populations in LICs. This article discusses the impact of the challenges faced by LICs in the context of international development aid needed for the development of health systems.

The impact of INGO ties on flows of aid for women’s health in the developing world

Recent literature on international development aid has emphasized the role of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) in determining who receives international development assistance. However, few analyses have investigated the specific sectors of international aid and the influence of INGOs by INGO type. Using panel data from 94 countries from 1996 to 2015, this study tests the effects of general INGOs, women’s international non-governmental organizations (WINGOs), and health international non-governmental organizations (HINGOs) on the flows of aid for women’s reproductive health, family planning, and sexually transmitted diseases (STD) control/HIV/AIDS. The results show that general INGOs, WINGOs, and HINGOs are an important source of women’s health aid. However, the effects of these organizations are conditioned by recipients’ levels of political and economic development. These findings provide supporting evidence for the idea that INGO ties are important in women’s health aid, but also suggest that the size and significance of INGO effects should be considered cautiously.

The secular/religious construction of neighbourhoods in Mandalay, Myanmar: Dhamma‐youns and wards

This article examines the entangled secular/religious construction of neighbourhoods in Mandalay as dynamic, people‐based and relational processes that are centred in dhamma‐youns (dhamma halls) which work within and across administrative ward boundaries. Cities in Myanmar have not followed the trajectories of urbanisation documented in the global North and its socio‐spatial relationships are inextricably bound to the Theravadin Buddhist lifeworld. This entanglement requires attention because international development aid promoted purely secular forms of urban governance between 2011 and 2021, and Buddhist morality remains salient after the February 2021 military coup d'état.

Public Opinion on Chinese Foreign Aid Policy: Calculated Opposition or General Discontent?

ABSTRACT The expanding profile of Chinese international development aid has generated strong academic and policy interests. A growing literature has emerged on Chinese foreign aid’s motivations, modalities, and impact. However, a significant lacuna remains in the domestic politics relating to this phenomenon. This gap is especially glaring in public opinion concerning China’s growing foreign aid programs. By analyzing empirical data gathered from a variety of sources, including a well-established online forum, social media sites of two influential media organizations, and multi-year surveys of residents of Beijing, this paper presents a nuanced picture of what the Chinese public thinks of Chinese foreign aid and tests two popular explanations of public opposition to foreign aid—perceived budgetary trade-offs and more general dissatisfaction with government policies.

Sustainable Development Goals and Islamic Social Finance: From Policy Divide to Policy Coherence and Convergence

This study aims to show how Islamic social finance (ISF) instruments can contribute to achieving SDGs and to filling the gaps in pressing humanitarian crises, such as refugee protection. ISF institutions enjoy sufficient financial capacity to bridge the gaps and realize the most relevant and urgent SDGs. However, due to policies and other constraints, their participation in international development aid programs is limited. Accordingly, this study explores the existing policy divide between Western and Islamic countries regarding the use of Faith-Based funds in international humanitarian and development aid programs. Through case studies, this study demonstrates that ISF instruments have the potential at national and international levels to mobilize resources to support marginalized groups in society in various countries. The analysis indicates the need to develop a framework that helps to build cooperation among local and international actors to mobilize ISF funds for cross-country development and humanitarian aid, which accelerates the achievement of the SDGs. This paper studies ongoing dialogues among various stakeholders to create policy convergence and to use ISF instruments towards SDGs. This study suggests that the dialogue should be more inclusive by including all potential stakeholders, including Muslim leaders, policymakers and Shariah Scholars, to narrow policy gaps and to draw policy coherence for using ISF tools in the duality aid programs and for creating synergies towards achieving the SDGs.

Projectifying feminism: exploring the conditions for feminist politics in international development aid

As an organisational form, the project poses a challenge today for the possibility of articulating feminist politics, understood as feminist visions and ambitions. With a focus on women’s organisations working in international development aid, we examine how the project format and its managerial attributes shape the possibility of articulating feminist politics. Mobilising assemblage thinking on a material consisting mainly of interviews with project workers in women’s organisations, we show that these organisations engage in assembly work to fit their activism with the project format, such as translating feminist ambitions into bureaucratic procedures and notions of temporality, activating repertoires of expertise, and adopting marketised approaches to development. We conclude that the project format depoliticises feminist politics, although it does not make the articulation of feminist ambitions impossible. Assemblage thinking is suggested as a suitable framework for feminist research when investigating how contemporary governing arrangements influence the articulation of feminist politics.

Changes in international development aid policy: from Trump to Biden

International development assistance is an integral part of the foreign economic and foreign policy activities of the US government. International aid is one of the largest components of US foreign relations spending and is regarded by many members of Congress as one of the most important foreign policy instruments. However, many US citizens and members of Congress feel that the US cannot afford such international aid spending, given the current budget deficit and competing budgetary priorities. As one of the largest donors of international development aid, the United States is of considerable interest to many researchers, including those who study trends in the polarization of attitudes toward foreign policy, including international aid. This article is devoted to the current US policy in the field of international development cooperation at the beginning of the presidency of Joe Biden. It examines the economic component of US government assistance: the total amount of US economic assistance, as well as the structure of international aid spending and country priorities for US economic assistance, are considered. An assessment of the prospects for US assistance is presented based on an analysis of the Joint Strategic Plan of the State Department and the Agency for International Assistance 2022-2026 and the US National Security Strategy 2022. Despite the stability and relative inertia of the international aid system, one can observe an increase in US interest in development assistance after the transition of power to President Biden, including in the context of competition with China.

Development aid benefits for donor countries

The article is based on the doctoral dissertation: ?International Development Aid as an Instrument for Achieving the Foreign Policy Objectives of France and Germany?. The main hypothesis of this article is that development aid is being used as an instrument for achieving foreign policy objectives and that it is, in this sense, primarily beneficial for donor countries. The article analyses the developmental inequality in the modern global capitalist order and the impact of corporations and development aid on the maintenance of such a system. The article focuses on two main EU member states: the Republic of France and the Federal Republic of Germany. By shifting the paradigm from the one in which less developed countries benefit the most from development aid policies to the one in which, in the long run, the countries that initiate these policies benefit the most, the article shows that larger and politically and economically more powerful countries use development aid policies to promote their own interests and achieve their foreign policy goals.

Distortions and Dilemmas in the Performative System of International Development Aid

Between growing ambitions for international aid and limited resources to achieve them, donors and international organisations’ repeated normative and performative demands have never been so strong. The dilemmas posed by the often diligent implementation of these requirements by the different international aid actors are nevertheless acute. Adapting to standards calls for the harmonisation, technicalisation and automation of professional processes and practices. At the same time, each actor seeks to display a especially or ability to innovate in a very competitive environment. Despite incessant criticism and the distortions to which it is subject, the international aid system model studied here through a political sociology lens appears to be far from running out of steam.

The Politics of Development Economics and Peacebuilding: A Postcolonial Global North Hegemonic Agenda?

Development economics or international development aid emerged to channel economic resources from the Global North to the developing world for development purposes. Critics have drawn attention to how development economics or international development aid and the more recent approaches to peacebuilding have become conservative if not neo-colonial enterprises. The imperialist/colonies’ interaction had existed before and served as harbingers of, the donor/recipient interaction. There is still great suspicion among critics that there has not been any significant departure from this historic past and “colonial” mindset, and what characterize today’s economic aid transactional dynamics. Through secondary data analysis and archival studies, the paper explains the classic narratives of internationalization of development economic aid, the original design, and objectives, the praxis, benefits or outcomes for the Global North, and the implications for the developing world (Global South). The methodology engages the various critical approaches to international development and where these neo-colonial sentiments may have originated from as well as the informing rationale.

Does effective altruism drive private cross-border aid? A qualitative study of American donors to grassroots INGOs

Given the multitude of outlets to which individuals can give their time and money, why do Americans donate to international causes? This research ties into larger discussions about the changes in the aid architecture and the role of private aid in particular. The contributions of the article are twofold. First, we seek to better understand how certain individual donors come to give to international development aid. Second, we discern altruistic motivations and behaviours attached to this giving and to what extent elements of effective altruism might explain them. Effective altruism emphasises rational and moral decision-making prior to donating in order to judge a donation’s cost-effectiveness – that is, to ensure that the effect of a donation is maximised. We use qualitative data from over 50 interviews with individual donors who give overseas across dozens of grassroots international nongovernmental organisations, participant observation, organisational archival documents and social media content. We find that donors who give to international causes give in response to needs overseas, as effective altruism would suggest. However, the ways in which they experience and calculate needs overseas are distinct from the cause prioritisation proposed by effective altruists.