Does Local Politics Matter?: Explaining Health Aid Project Implementation Success through the Regime Type of Recipient Countries

While crises accumulate in the developing countries, major donors decrease their aid budget. Consequently, understanding determinants of aid effectiveness is crucial to improving health around the World. Previous research has put forward the positive influence of democratic regimes on health improvements. Nonetheless, little is known about the role of recipients' political regimes on the success of aid project implementation. This paper seeks to clarify this relationship by answering the question “What is the effect of regime type on the effective implementation of project-aid targeted to health?”. The study focuses on the World Bank projects in the health sector in Africa. An OLS approach is chosen to investigate democratic mechanisms, data is retrieved through the Independent Evaluation Group and Freedom House. The results show a positive but weak non-significant effect of democracy on aid effectiveness. Hence, findings do not provide evidence that democracies are better at...Show moreWhile crises accumulate in the developing countries, major donors decrease their aid budget. Consequently, understanding determinants of aid effectiveness is crucial to improving health around the World. Previous research has put forward the positive influence of democratic regimes on health improvements. Nonetheless, little is known about the role of recipients' political regimes on the success of aid project implementation. This paper seeks to clarify this relationship by answering the question “What is the effect of regime type on the effective implementation of project-aid targeted to health?”. The study focuses on the World Bank projects in the health sector in Africa. An OLS approach is chosen to investigate democratic mechanisms, data is retrieved through the Independent Evaluation Group and Freedom House. The results show a positive but weak non-significant effect of democracy on aid effectiveness. Hence, findings do not provide evidence that democracies are better at implementing health aid projects. Using a larger sample is recommended for future studies.Show less

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Does Local Politics Matter? Explaining Health Aid Project Implementation Success through the Regime Type of Recipient Countries