Acting Autonomously or Mimicking the State and Peers? A Panel Tobit Analysis of Financial Dependence and Aid Allocation by Swiss NGOs

KOF Working Paper No. 219

35 Pages Posted: 18 Mar 2009

See all articles by Axel Dreher

Axel Dreher

Heidelberg University

Peter Nunnenkamp

University of Kiel

Hannes Oehler

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Johannes Weisser

Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Max Planck Institute for Economics

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: February 2009

Abstract

NGO aid is still widely believed to be superior to official aid (ODA). However, the incentives of NGOs to excel and target aid to the poor and deserving are increasingly disputed. We contribute to the emerging literature on the allocation of NGO aid by performing panel Tobit estimations for Swiss NGOs. The analysis offers new insights in two major regards: First, we cover the allocation of both self-financed and officially co-financed aid for a large panel of NGOs and recipient countries. Second, by classifying each NGO according to its financing structure, we address the unresolved question of whether financial dependence on the government impairs the targeting of NGO aid. It turns out that NGOs mimic the state as well as NGO peers. Officially refinanced NGOs are more inclined to imitate the allocation of ODA. However, the degree of financial dependence does not affect the poverty orientation of NGO aid and the incentives of NGOs to engage in easier environments. The allocation of self-financed aid differs in several respects from the allocation of officially co-financed aid, including the role of financial dependence for imitating the state and herding among NGOs.

Keywords: NGO aid, aid allocation, official co-financing, financial dependence

JEL Classification: F35

Suggested Citation

Dreher, Axel and Nunnenkamp, Peter and Oehler, Hannes and Weisser, Johannes, Acting Autonomously or Mimicking the State and Peers? A Panel Tobit Analysis of Financial Dependence and Aid Allocation by Swiss NGOs (February 2009). KOF Working Paper No. 219, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1362437 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1362437

Axel Dreher (Contact Author)

Heidelberg University ( email )

Grabengasse 1
Heidelberg, 69117
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.axel-dreher.de

Peter Nunnenkamp

University of Kiel ( email )

D-24100 Kiel
Germany

Hannes Oehler

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

Johannes Weisser

Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Max Planck Institute for Economics ( email )

Kahlaische Strasse 10
D-07745 Jena, 07745
Germany

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