Project-Level Aid Research
At Project-Level Aid, we are involved in a wide variety of academic research on the role of development finance in the world today. The primary focus of the project has traditionally been on uncovering patterns in aid allocation, but recent projects by both staff and partners has also begun to branch into issues of effectiveness. In general, our research is motivated by a few simple questions:
- Under what conditions does project allocation and implementation reflect the preferences of the donors, recipients, NGOs, or development agencies?
- What types of projects are more likely to be financed?
- What explains changes in the portfolios of development agencies?
- Which countries are more likely to receive development loans and grants?
- What determines the size of these financial transfers?
- What kinds of projects are more likely to receive bilateral vs. multilateral assistance?
- What determines the terms of each contract?
- Under what conditions will development projects promote economic growth, poverty alleviation, democracy, and sustainable environmental practices?
Current Research:
Environmental Aid Project: The Environmental Aid project has identified the projected environmental impact of every project in the PLAID database. Research from this project examines both the allocation and impact of environmental assistance.
Health Aid Project: The Health Aid project has coded all PLAID records for their impact on human health.
For a complete listing of books and papers utilizing PLAID data, please see our Publications.