Foreign aid and economic growth in the Philippines

Abstract

With recent studies generating skepticism toward aid-effectiveness for economic growth of some aid-dependent economies, the need to re-examine the effectiveness of foreign aid for economic growth has gained increasing importance. This paper examines the role of foreign aid in per-capita economic growth in the Philippines, a country that has historically been one of the largest recipients of foreign aid. A VECM is estimated for the period 1970-2010. Results indicate a significantly negative relationship between foreign aid and per-capita economic growth. A 1% rise in the share of aid in GDP results in a fall in per-capita real income by 0.51%.