Open AccessAustralian aid projects: What works, where projects work and how Australia compares
Author(s) -
Wood Terence,
Otor Sabit,
Dornan Matthew
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
asia and the pacific policy studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.529
H-Index - 14
ISSN - 2050-2680
DOI - 10.1002/app5.300
Subject(s) - work (physics) , aid effectiveness , set (abstract data type) , project management , humanitarian aid , political science , economic growth , developing country , economics , engineering , management , computer science , mechanical engineering , programming language
Abstract In this article, we conduct the first‐ever systematic study of Australian aid project appraisals. Using a previously unstudied data set of appraisals, we study project and recipient country factors influencing Australian aid effectiveness. We find effectiveness varies more within recipient countries than between countries. We find larger projects are more likely to be successful. Humanitarian projects are more successful on average than development projects. We also find that Australian aid is less likely to succeed in the Pacific than elsewhere, a significant finding given Australia's increased focus on the region. Finally, we show that Australia does not appear to be an unusual donor: when we compare Australia with other donors in a global data set, we find similar variables are correlated with effectiveness for most donors, including Australia.