Abstract

This thesis examines the impact of foreign aid on foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa. Since there is no consensus in the literature regarding the effects of foreign aid on FDI in developing countries, the thesis examines the empirical relationship between foreign aid and FDI in Africa covering 41 African countries between 1995 and 2015. The analysis controls for market size, level of development, economic trade openness, political stability, and natural resources dependency. The model is estimated using a dynamic panel of System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimation to address endogeneity problem. The model is applied to panel data compiled from publicly available databases. The results of this analysis show support of initial hypotheses that foreign aid can have positive impact on FDI. In addition, while recent studies tend to consider disaggregating aid sectors for infrastructure, and education among others, this thesis argues that aid function channels more impact on a country’s economy rather than being confined to targeted sectors. The results also indicate a significant positive impact associated with development aid channeled through multilaterals on FDI inflows. Consequently, governments’ policies to increase FDI must account for efficient utilization of foreign aid where as policies need to be developed not in isolation from each other. In addition, development partners should channel more funds through multilateral institutions to maximize the effectiveness of foreign aid.

Department

Public Policy & Administration Department

Degree Name

MA in Public Policy

Graduation Date

6-1-2018

Submission Date

February 2018

First Advisor

Ali, Hamid E.

Committee Member 1

Bhuiyan, Shahjahan

Committee Member 2

Barsoum, Ghada

Extent

55 p.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Rights

The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Not necessary for this item

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