F1ID 4115 - New Trends in Development Cooperation

Starting at the end of World War II, wealthier, industrialized states have taken to systematically aiding their less economically “developed” counterparts with financial and technical assistance, referred to as foreign aid. Over the decades, a particular set of aid-giving norms and practices were enshrined in an international foreign aid architecture that comprises a variety of actors like bilateral and international donors, governmental and nongovernmental recipients, large international organizations and smaller civil society organizations.

In this class, we address three broad questions related to the political economy of development and humanitarian assistance. First, we tackle the question of aid allocation: to quote a seminal piece by Alberto Alesina and David Dollar (2000), “who gives foreign aid to whom, and why?” We review traditional explanations that have to do with the needs of recipients and the strategic considerations of donors; as well as more recent, comprehensive frameworks that theorize about the kinds of places where donors have greater incentives to finance development (e.g., Sarah Bermeo’s “Targeted Development,” 2017). Questions of aid allocation also address what modalities and sectors donors are most likely to target, and why. For example, when do donors engage the recipient government in the design and implementation of aid projects, and when do they bypass it in favor of nongovernmental partners?

Second, we consider the effectiveness question: does foreign aid work? What are the effects of receiving foreign aid on political and economic outcomes in recipient countries? We consider the impact on both intended and unintended consequences, from economic growth to democratization, the survival of political leaders, the quality of institutions, public opinion toward the donor country, and outcomes related to specific issues such as migration, the environment, and human rights.

Third, and most important, we examine the first two questions in light of how the traditional foreign aid architecture has been changing. We consider two recent phenomena: (i) the emergence of new donors that do not subscribe to the norms and practices of traditional aid-giving, such as China, Brazil, and a few Arab monarchies; and (ii) the rise of populist and nationalist sentiment in traditional donors, culminating in the drastic shifts in foreign aid policy the United States government undertook in early 2025

In addition to covering these topics substantively, this course has two broad methodological goals. First, we practice a scientific approach to studying political phenomena. We think critically about how scholars in empirical social sciences theorize answers to research questions, derive testable hypotheses from those theories, and how they use evidence to test such propositions. We cover a host of theories and perspectives that allow us to think generally about these relationships. Second, we develop skills geared toward translating social science findings into more easily digestible reports and briefs.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will:

• Develop a nuanced understanding of the determinants of the allocation of development and humanitarian assistance, theoretically and empirically.
• Develop a nuanced understanding of the effectiveness of development and humanitarian assistance, theoretically and empirically.
• Critically compare and contrast development and humanitarian cooperation by traditional foreign aid donors vs. new and emerging donors.
• Link the social scientific literature on international development to that on populism and anti-multilateralism to understand the current shift away from the traditional foreign aid architecture.

Professional Skills

By the end of the course, students will:

• Become proficient in interpreting qualitative and quantitative policy evaluations, familiarize themselves with commonly-used data formats and sources.
• Be able to translate the findings of social science research into digestible, actionable insight for non-academic audiences.
• Collaborate with peer to produce a report that combines theoretical, qualitative, and quantitative skills to showcase the over-time shifts in aid policy of an aid donor.

This course is designed for first-semester MA students. No specific prerequisites.

The instructor will provide oral feedback on the Weekly Reading Questions on a weekly basis, in class, by addressing the most important asked questions during the class meeting. She will provide oral feedback to group presentations to the presenting students at the end of the class meeting during which the presentation took place; presentation grades will be released after at least one third of students have had the chance to present. The instructor will release the Article Quiz grades within 10 days of the quiz. She will provide written feedback and a grade to the group report at the end of the semester’s exam period.

• Weekly Reading Questions (10%): students submit 2-3 questions or comments about the assigned reading before the class meeting.
• Article Quiz (25%): in class, halfway through the semester, students answer a series of multiple-choice questions about an article that was assigned to read at home at least two weeks prior. This assesses their understanding of a peer-reviewed article in the field of political economy of foreign aid.
• Group Presentation (25%): in groups of 3-4 students, students give a 10-minute presentation of their research into the aid policy of one particular donor.
• Group Report (40%): by the end of the semester, groups of students produce a report that describes the temporal variation in the pattern of aid allocation for one particular donor. This includes a data description and visualization component.

• In Class Presence: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
• Online learning activities: 0 hours a week / 0 hours a semester
• Reading and Preparation for Class: 3 hours a week / 36 hours a semester
• Research and Preparation for Group Work: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
• Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 3 hours a week / 36 hours a semester