In the study 'Do elites benefit from democracy and foreign aid in developing countries' (Journal of Development Economics, 2009) Bjørnskov asks if political elites benefit from foreign aid relative to the rest of the population. He concludes that his results provide qualified support for the...

In the study "Do elites benefit from democracy and foreign aid in developing countries" (Journal of Development Economics, 2009) Bjørnskov asks if political elites benefit from foreign aid relative to the rest of the population. He concludes that his results provide qualified support for the...

Mali long seemed a model, low-income democracy. Yet, in a few short weeks in early 2012, more than half of the territory came under the military control of an Islamist secessionist movement, and a military coup deposed the democratically-elected government in the capital. Given the substantial...

This study explores the effects of foreign aid on democracy in Mozambique during the last decade. Aid for democracy built on historic relationships forged between donors and the government during the wartime humanitarian emergency. Foreign aid played an important role in Mozambique's transition...

Can democracy be taught? Are individuals more likely to embrace democratic values, to learn basic knowledge about political processes, and to engage the political process more effectively as a result of their exposure to donor-sponsored civic education programmes in emerging democracies? After...

Budget aid has become a popular instrument of official development assistance (ODA) since the 1990s, as it holds a promise of enhanced aid effectiveness due to recipient-country ownership and reduced fragmentation. However, it potentially provides incentives for recipient-country governments to...

Since WWII, several trillion USD have been given to developing countries in official and other development aid. Yet the vast majority of these countries - at least if we look at the vast majority of the people in these countries - is stuck in abject poverty. Most commonly, we cite the lack of...

In this contribution to a symposium sponsored by the Michigan State University Journal of International Law, the author argues that predominantly evolutionary Soviet transition to the Rule of Law (initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev's ‘Perestroika' at the end of the 1980s) was derailed by...

We investigate whether democracy aid flows, which are directed towards the democratization of recipients by covering democracy-related programs and government and civil society activities, affect the future political regime of recipient countries. We introduce a multinomial multivariate logit...

Research into foreign aid has mostly focused on its ability to affect economic (i.e., GDP per capita) growth. Conclusions have been mixed. I consider aid's effectiveness differently: by its ability to improve quality of life. I find that, though aid does not affect quality of life in the...