Donor influence in international financial institutions: Deciphering what alignment measures measure
This paper explores U.S. influence in the World Bank using panel data on World Bank lending to 148 developing countries between 1984 and 2005. I compare a range of UN alignment variables (with differing interpretations), introduce other measures of U.S. interests, and control for voting alignment with the G7 donors. Estimation results suggest that partial correlations for U.S. UN voting alignment partly reflect vote buying and partly reflect broader alliances. The results convincingly reject the hypothesis that U.S. UN voting alignment merely proxies for G7 influence in the allocation of World Bank funds.
F35 - Foreign Aid ; F53 - International Agreements and Observance; International Organizations ; F55 - International Institutional Arrangements ; O19 - International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations