Work

Long-Run Effects of Aid: Forecasts and Evidence from Sierra Leone

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: We evaluate the long-run effects of a decentralised approach to economic development called community-driven development—a prominent strategy for delivering foreign aid—by revisiting a randomised community-driven development program in Sierra Leone 11 years after launch. We estimate large persistent gains in local public goods and market activity, and modest positive effects on institutions. There is suggestive evidence that community-driven development may have slightly improved the communities’ response to the 2014 Ebola epidemic. We compare estimates to the forecasts of experts from Sierra Leone and abroad, working in policy and academia, and find that local policymakers are overly optimistic about the effectiveness of community-driven development.

Source: The Economic Journal

DOI: 10.1093/ej/uead001

Authors: Katherine Casey, Rachel Glennerster, Edward Miguel, Maarten Voors

Institutions: Stanford University, University of Chicago, University of California, Berkeley, Wageningen University & Research

Language: English

Topic: International Development and Aid

Subfield: Development

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Partnerships for the goals, No poverty, Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Economic and Social Research Council, Wageningen University and Research