Affinity for Donors: Does Foreign Aid Affect Individual Perceptions in Recipient Nations?

Does foreign assistance affect affinity of recipients toward their donors? While some address the altruistic/strategic debate in terms of the effect of aid on aggregate human rights or poverty indicators, few have examined the effect of aid on recipient public opinion towards the donor. Does increasing aid from a particular donor result in an elevated opinion of that donor, in terms of levels of trust in the donor government, confidence in people from the donor country, or how willing people are to see trade expanded with the donor? The Latin Barometer provides public opinion data on trust and affinity for the US, Spain, and Japan, as well as the EU, UN, and World Bank, for respondents from 17 Latin American countries over 8 years. Aggregated to the national level and analyzed alongside aid per capita from these major donors to the region and other political and economic indicators, I will investigate the relationship between levels of aid and public support for donors. Regardless of donor motivations, development assistance may yield higher (or lower) payoffs than donors and scholars currently realize. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]