PUBLICATIONS

@workingpaper{Asongu2015bg,
title = {Foreign Aid and Inclusive Development: Updated Evidence from Africa, 2005-2012},
author = {Jacinta Nwachukwu C Simplice A. Asongu},
editor = {African 2015 Governance and Development Institute WP/15/062},
url = {http://www.afridev.org/RePEc/agd/agd-wpaper/Foreign-Aid-and-Inclusive-Development.pdf},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-12-01},
abstract = {Motivated by the April 2015 World Bank Publication on MDGs which reveals that poverty has been declining in all regions of the world with the exception of African countries, this study investigates the effects of a plethora of foreign aid dynamics on inequality adjusted human development. Contemporary and non-contemporary OLS, Fixed-effects and a system GMM technique with forward orthogonal deviations are employed. The empirical evidence is based on an updated sample of 53 African countries for the period 2005-2012.The following findings are established. First, the impacts of aid dynamics with high degrees of substitution are positive. These include aid for: social infrastructure, economic infrastructure, the productive sector and multi-sectors. Second, the effect of humanitarian assistance is consistently negative across specifications and models. Third, the effects of programme assistance and action on debt are ambiguous because they become positive with the GMM technique. Justifications for these changes and clarifications with respect to existing literature are provided. Policy implications are discussed in the light of the post-2015 development agenda. We also provide some recommendations for a rethinking of theories and models on which development assistance is based.},
keywords = {Foreign Aid; Political Economy; Development; Africa},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {workingpaper}
}

@workingpaper{Asongu2015bh,
title = {Foreign Aid Fiscal Policy: Theory and Evidence},
author = {Mohamed Jellal Simplice A. Asongu},
editor = {African 2015 Governance and Development Institute WP/15/063},
url = {http://www.afridev.org/RePEc/agd/agd-wpaper/Foreign-Aid-Fiscal-Policy-Theory-and-Evidence.pdf},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-12-01},
abstract = {The paper provides theoretical and empirical justifications for the instrumentality of
foreign aid in stimulating private investment and fixed capital formation through fiscal policy
mechanisms. We propose an endogenous growth theory based on an extension of Barro (1990)
by postulating that the positive effect of aid mitigates the burden of the taxation system on the
private sector of recipient countries. The empirical validity is based on data from 53 African
countries for the period 1996-2010. While the findings on the tax effort channel are
overwhelmingly consistent with theory across specifications and fundamental characteristics,
those of the ‘government expenditure’ channel are a little heterogeneous but broadly in line with
the theoretical postulations. Justification for the slight heterogeneity and policy implications are
discussed.},
keywords = {Foreign Aid; Political Economy; Development; Africa},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {workingpaper}
}

@workingpaper{Asongu2015b_42,
title = {On the dynamic effects of foreign aid on corruption},
author = {Simplice A Asongu},
editor = {African 2015 Governance and Development Institute WP/15/015},
url = {http://www.afridev.org/RePEc/agd/agd-wpaper/Foreign-aid-volatility-and-lifelong-learning.pdf},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-01-01},
abstract = {We assemble more pieces on the puzzle of the aid-corruption nexus. In essence, we extend the debate on the effect of foreign aid on corruption by providing evidence on dynamic effects of wealth, legal origin, religious-domination, regional proximity, openness to sea, natural resources and politico-economic stability. The empirical evidence from dynamic panel GMM estimation is based on 53 African countries for the period 1996-2010. The findings show that the positive effect of foreign aid on corruption is most significant in: Middle-income, French civil-law, Christian-dominated, non-oil exporting and landlocked countries. Moreover, there is also some scanty evidence of foreign aid increasing corruption-control in Lower Middle income and Not-landlocked countries. Justifications for the dynamics are discussed.},
keywords = {Foreign Aid; Political Economy; Development; Africa},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {workingpaper}
}

@workingpaper{EFOBI2014,
title = {Foreign Aid and Corruption: Clarifying Murky Empirical Conclusions},
author = {Ibukun BEECROFT & Simplice ASONGU A Uchenna EFOBI},
editor = {African 2014 Governance and Development Institute WP/25/14},
url = {http://www.afridev.org/RePEc/agd/agd-wpaper/Foreign-Aid-and-Corruption.-Clarifying-Murky-Empirical-Conclusions.pdf},
year = {2014},
date = {2014-12-01},
abstract = {This note reconciles an on-going debate on the effect of foreign aid on corruption by
introducing a previously missing heterogeneity dimension of aid. The relationship was
estimated using dynamic system GMM and quantile regressions (QR). Results show that both
narratives in the debate are correct, contingent on the type of development assistance. The
QR results are robust to endogeneity when the independent variables of interest are
instrumented with their first-lags.},
keywords = {Foreign Aid; Political Economy; Development; Africa},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {workingpaper}
}

@workingpaper{Asongu2014bd,
title = {Foreign Aid and Governance in Africa},
author = {Jacinta Nwachukwu C Simplice A. Asongu},
editor = {African 2014 Governance and Development Institute WP/14/034},
url = {http://www.afridev.org/RePEc/agd/agd-wpaper/Foreign-aid-and-governance-in-Africa.pdf},
year = {2014},
date = {2014-12-01},
abstract = {Purpose – This paper investigates the effect of foreign aid on governance in order to extend the
debates on foreign aid and to verify common positions from Moyo’s ‘Dead Aid’, Collier’s
‘Bottom Billion’ and Eubank’s ‘Somaliland’. The empirical evidence is based on updated data
from 52 African countries for the period 1996-2010.
Design/methodology/approach – An endogeneity robust instrumental variable Two-Stage-Least
Squares empirical strategy is employed.
Findings – The findings reveal that development assistance deteriorates economic (regulation
quality and government effectiveness) and institutional (corruption-control and rule of law)
governance, but has an insignificant effect on political (political stability, voice and
accountability) governance. While, these findings are broadly in accordance with Moyo (2009)
and Collier (2007) on weak governance, they neither confirm the Eubank (2012) position on
political governance nor the Asongu (2012) stance on the aid-corruption nexus in his debate with
Okada & Samreth (2012).
Practical implications – The use of foreign aid as an instrument to influence the election and
replacement of political leaders in Africa may have insignificant results. It is time to solve the
second tragedy of foreign aid and that economists and policy makers start rethinking the models
and theories on which foreign aid is used to influence economic, institutional and political
governance in recipient countries.
Originality/value – The paper extends the debate on foreign aid and institutions in Africa in the
light a plethora of recent studies in the aid literature.},
keywords = {Foreign Aid; Political Economy; Development; Africa},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {workingpaper}
}

@workingpaper{Asongu2014bi,
title = {A brief clarification to the questionable economics of foreign aid for inclusive human development},
author = {Simplice A Asongu},
editor = {African 2014 Governance and Development Institute WP/28/14},
url = {http://www.afridev.org/RePEc/agd/agd-wpaper/A-brief-clarification-to-the-questionable-economics-of-foreign-aid.pdf},
year = {2014},
date = {2014-11-01},
abstract = {The study clarifies the questionable economics of foreign aid for inclusive human
development. It investigates the effect of a plethora of foreign aid dynamics on the inequality
adjusted human development index. Contemporary and non-contemporary OLS, Fixed-effects
and a system GMM technique with forward orthogonal deviations are employed. The
empirical evidence is based on a sample of 53 African countries for the period 2005-2012.
The following findings are established. First, the impacts of aid dynamics with high degrees
of substitution are positive. These include, aid for: social infrastructure, economic
infrastructure, the productive sector and the multi-sector. Second, the effect of humanitarian
assistance is consistently negative across specifications and models. Third, the effects of
programme assistance and action on debts are ambiguous because they become positive with
the GMM technique. Justifications for these changes and clarifications with respect to existing
literature are provided. Policy implications are discussed in light of Piketty’s celebrated
literature and the post-2015 development agenda. We also provide some recommendations
for a rethinking of theories and models on which development assistance is based.},
keywords = {Foreign Aid; Political Economy; Development; Africa},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {workingpaper}
}