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Can foreign aid reduce income inequality and poverty?

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An Erratum to this article was published on 01 April 2011

Abstract

This paper’s goal is to examine the effect of foreign aid on income inequality and poverty reduction for the period 1971–2002. Since simple cross-country regressions cannot be taken as ‘true’ time series findings we focus on dynamic panel data techniques, which allow accounting for potential simultaneity and heterogeneity problems. We find some weak evidence that foreign aid is conducive to the improvement of the distribution of income when the quality of institutions is taken into account; however, this result is not robust. This finding is consistent with recent empirical research on aid ineffectiveness in achieving economic growth or promoting democratic institutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Inter-American Development Bank, 1300 New York Ave. NW, Washington, D.C., 20577, USA

    Alberto Chong

  2. Ben Gurion University, Beersheba, Israel

    Mark Gradstein

  3. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Cecilia Calderon

Authors
  1. Alberto Chong
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  2. Mark Gradstein
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  3. Cecilia Calderon
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Correspondence to Alberto Chong.

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An erratum to this article can be found online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11127-011-9790-2

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Chong, A., Gradstein, M. & Calderon, C. Can foreign aid reduce income inequality and poverty?. Public Choice 140, 59–84 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-009-9412-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-009-9412-4

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