Keeping a Low Profile: What Determines the Allocation of Aid by Non-Governmental Organizations?

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in Abstract:NGOs play an important role in international development cooperation, but the allocation of NGO aid has rarely been mapped, let alone explained. Based on a representative dataset for 61 important NGOs from various OECD countries, we analyze the targeting of NGO aid across a large number of recipient countries by jointly considering major determinants of NGO aid in a multivariate regression framework. While our results show that NGOs are more active in the neediest countries, we reject the hypothesis that NGOs complement official aid through engaging in so-called difficult institutional environments. Rather, they tend to replicate the location choices of official "backdonors." Moreover, NGOs follow other NGOs so that aid gets clustered. Finally, NGOs select recipient countries with common traits related to religion or colonial history. Taken together, our findings suggest that NGOs keep a low profile rather than distinguishing themselves from other donors and trying to excel under risky conditions.

NGO mission design

“…Even though donor-domains will exactly abut, competition for turf amongst social entrepreneurs will lead to issue-domains or mission statements that overlap in equilibrium. This result is consistent with evidence found in Koch et al (2009).…”

NGOs, States, and Donors Revisited: Still Too Close for Comfort?

“…Grassroots linkages and close proximity to beneficiaries are seen to give NGOs a comparative advantage in providing effective, targeted aid and ensuring that programs are designed in a bottom-up manner reflecting local contexts, needs, and realities and are not subject to commercial or political capture (Koch, Dreher, Nunnenkamp, & Thiele, 2009). Given the centrality of this to their perceived legitimacy, early proponents forewarned NGOs not to "forget their grassroots origins and links, the basis of their greatest strength" (Drabek, 1987, p. ix).…”

“…Development financing also has a strong geographical influence. Cross-country studies of international NGOs (INGOs) find that neither poverty nor governance explains their choice of location (Koch, 2007;Koch et al, 2009). Instead, INGOs become tightly clustered in countries where donors are located, resulting in and reinforcing the 'donor darling-donor orphan' divide.…”

Policy, entrepreneurship, creativity and sustainability: The case of ‘Principi Attivi’ (‘Active Ingredients’) in Apulia Region (southern Italy)

“…Nonetheless, if we look at a broader picture the economic crisis has dramatically challenged many governments such that Italy (Materia et al 2015) as well as other countries (Kock et al 2009;Azreen and Ilan, 2015) are now in need to search for alternative solutions to the scarcity of public funding. Cuccia and Rizzo (2015) argue for three strategies in the sector of the performing arts: i) multi-product initiatives based on horizontal integration between old and new cultural products; ii) networking actions favouring information sharing across the local community; and iii) cooperation strategies from production to consumption.…”