Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-2024
Faculty Advisor(s)
Naveen Sunder
Department
Department of Economics
Project Track
Scholarly Project Track
Abstract
I examine the impact of foreign aid on child health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on stunting as a key indicator. Using geocoded aid project data from six coun- tries—Burundi, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Uganda—matched with individual- level health data, I employ a quasi-experimental framework to analyze the causal effects of proximity to aid sites on childhood development. I find that children living within 10kms of an aid site are two percentage points less likely to be stunted. The results suggest that foreign aid contributes positively to child health perhaps through a combination of direct interventions, such as healthcare services, and indirect channels, including improved house- hold incomes. I also show that the results are statistically significant and robust to different treatment definitions, which vary by geographic radii and temporal windows. Additional robustness checks confirm these results across multiple levels of fixed effects and alternate treatment definitions. While treatment effects are relatively consistent across gender and ru- ral/urban status, children with uneducated mothers may experience slightly greater benefits. Overall, the findings underscore the importance of aid interventions to local communities and provide evidence for the broader applicability of aid’s positive impact on child health across sub-Saharan Africa.
Recommended Citation
Ramana, Akshay, 2024. Foreign Aid and Child Health in sub-Saharan Africa, Honors Program.
