China’s foreign aid system: structure,agencies, and identities

China’s rise as a (re)emerging donor has attracted attention over the last decade, with a focus on Chinese development assistance as a challenge to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) aid norms. Knowledge of China’s domestic aid structure is needed to understand Chinese aid abroad. This paper addresses gaps in the literature and challenges the accepted nostrum that China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) dominates China’s aid programme. Building on the authors’ experience as Chinese aid practitioners and scholars over more than a decade and drawing on over 300 interviews, the paper explores China’s aid decision-making processes by examining the main agencies, identities and informal interactions. We argue that the Chinese aid system is characterised by fierce and ongoing competition for influence among actors, especially MOFCOM, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF), as well as the companies responsible for implementing Chinese aid projects.     

Foreign Aid and Illegal Immigration

Abstract

Gaytán-Fregoso and Lahiri (2000) claim that foreign aid may increase the level of illegal immigration. This comment reconsiders their perverse findings under endogenous as well as exogenous income repatriation. Furthermore, modifying Gaytán-Fregoso and Lahiri's model, in which aid is allotted in a lump-sum fashion, it is suggested that the actual amount of foreign aid should depend on the source country's performance, i.e., on the number of illegal immigrants, since such a policy will further reduce the number of illegal immigrants.     

阿拉伯海湾国家对外援助的战略、特点与影响

阿拉伯海湾援助国是新兴援助国的重要成员,在国际发展援助中的贡献与日俱增。援助国的实践服务于政治、经济与文化战略需求,与石油红利、君主制政权、历史地缘关系、伊斯兰文化的宗教属性及地区安全环境密切相关。从外交战略看,援助政策被纳入国家总体战略,在保持对战略重点区域持续投入的基础上向全球扩展,主要体现为团结援助和南南合作;从经济战略看,在全球范围内部署和循环利用石油财富,旨在加速推进国家经济多元化政策;从文化战略看,宣扬伊斯兰传统文化中慷慨施舍的精神,达到提升国家地位、塑造地区影响力之目的;从援助特点看,以王室和中央政府主导的援助政策,兼顾双边和多边的援助渠道,援助分配聚焦受援国经济与社会发展领域、积极对接国际发展合作新机制。援助不仅通过人道主义援助缓解了贫困国家的发展难题,而且彰显了其在国际发展合作中的多重作用,与中国深入践行合作共享的发展理念息息相通。     

What Factors Determine the Allocation of Aid by Arab Countries and Multilateral Agencies?

This article provides a statistical analysis of the determinants of Arab aid allocation using Heckman's two-step estimator. It is found that poorer, Arab, Islamic and Sub-Saharan African countries are more likely to receive some positive amount of Arab aid (gate-keeping stage). The same is true for countries not maintaining diplomatic relations with Israel as well as those with voting patterns in the United Nations General Assembly similar to Saudi Arabia. Arab and more populous countries also receive a higher share of the total aid allocated (level stage). The same is true for Islamic countries in the case of bilateral aid and countries with voting similarity in the case of multilateral aid. Donor interest, in particular Arab solidarity, plays a clear role at both stages, whereas recipient need as measured by a country's level of income only affects the gate-keeping stage, not the level stage.     

Old bottle new wine? The evolution of China’s aid in Africa 1956–2014

Abstract

China’s aid is frequently portrayed as a challenger to established Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) norms, but it is unclear when the distinct ‘Chinese-model’ of aid emerged and how it has evolved over time. Using new historical data on Chinese aid in Africa and the case of Ethiopia, we have three main findings. First, China developed a distinct model of mixing ODA-like aid and commercial forms of economic engagement only after the mid-1990s, reflecting institutional reforms for allocating and managing foreign official finance. Second, social sectors have played a much greater role in China’s aid programme than is commonly perceived. Finally, Chinese aid to productive sectors has changed substantially whereas in social sectors it is relatively consistent.     

Much ado about nothing? The European Union and the global politics of untying aid

This article has two main purposes. The first is that of providing a longitudinal analysis of the global politics of untying aid, by looking at a number of debates that have occurred within the Development Assistance Committee and in the context of a number of high-level forums on aid effectiveness. The second is that of proposing some explanations for the lack of significant progress in these contexts. The focus is on the European Union (EU), which has been widely perceived as one of the most fervent supporters of promoting the aid untying agenda. In all these debates, the EU's leadership aspirations have remained largely unfulfilled. Thus, the EU has failed to adopt a EU-wide vision on aid untying; persuade non-EU donors to untie their aid, even when it has played the reciprocity card; and promote a pro-poor use of foreign aid, by supporting local ownership and facilitating greater access of developing country firms to aid contracts.     

Evaluating Brazilian South–South Cooperation in Haiti

I focus on evaluating Brazilian development and humanitarian cooperation in Haiti to answer how emerging providers such as Brazil are contributing to global development through cooperation. The paper establishes criteria for evaluation, arguing that global standards for aid effectiveness need to be expanded. I argue that when assessed on ownership, efficiency and sustainability, cooperation holds several advantages and limits, such as misplaced assumptions that Brazil’s approach is appropriate elsewhere. The discussion is rooted in the context of Haiti in order to underline how outcomes are not pre-determined, but rather depend on the model’s interaction with the partner context.