Great Power Aid Allocation: A Comparative Analysis of Chinese and American Foreign Aid on Development in Africa

Abstract

By Preston Parrish, International Affairs

Advisor: Thomas Moore

Presentation ID: CC_3

Abstract: As the United States continues its shift towards great power economic competition with China, the African continent will come further into focus as a high-value target for economic cooperation due to its density of resources and its encouraging growth as a market for trade. This capstone will serve as a comparative analysis of Chinese and American foreign aid allocations to African countries and their effects within them. Specifically, it uses a battery of economic and social indicators to empirically test for similarities and differences between the allocation decisions of the two governments, as well as whether said aid has any tangible effect on the development of recipient countries. As this project is still in production, we will only endeavor to make a series of prediction based on currently available data. Given prior literature on foreign aid related to the United States, this paper predicts that for both donors, aid allocations will be higher in recipient countries with clear economic incentives to investment. However, we also predict that Chinese aid will be more prevalent in African countries where human rights abuses are more frequent.