Bistånd och ekonomisk tillväxt i minst utvecklade länder

Abstract

International development aid has been a critical tool for addressing poverty and promoting economic growth and welfare. Despite decades of international aid, least developed countries in Sub-Saharan Africa continue to face social and economic challenges. Previous research provides mixed findings on the effectiveness of aid. While some studies highlight that aid fosters economic growth, other studies show that its impact is limited and depends on political and institutional contexts. This study examines the relationship between the Official Development Assistance (ODA) and economic growth in the 28 least developed countries and how the relationship differs in environment with different levels of corruption and democracy during the period 2000-2019. Utilizing panel data and fixed effects regression models, the relationship between ODA and Gross domestic product per capita growth is analyzed. By accounting for a delayed effect of ODA, the results indicate that aid has a generally positive but limited relationship with economic growth. The study concludes that aid effectiveness depends on the governance environment of recipient countries. In countries with high levels of corruption and low levels of democratic freedom, the effect of aid is more limited but remains significant. Aid has a stronger effect in environments characterized by low corruption, while varying levels of democratic freedom appear to have no significant effect on aid’s overall impact on economic growth.