This dissertation focuses on the sub-national impact of foreign aid on civil conflicts by asking the question: How does foreign aid committed to contested areas affect the intensity of violence in those areas? The main theoretical contribution is to focus on how aid influences warring parties’ decisions to engage in contests over territorial control and how that in turn influences violence intensity. The study introduces two concepts: funding concentration and barriers to exploiting aid. A contested area has greater concentration of funding if warring parties expect a high value of aid to be distributed to only a few locations. Funding is instead diffused if the parties expect aid to be spread over many locations. A low barrier to exploiting aid is present if it is of a type that both state and non-state actors could potentially misuse. There is a high barrier if territorial control is required in order to exploit funding channels. The theory introduces three testable implications: First, greater funding concentration encourages conventional contests over territorial control, which increases military fatalities. The second proposal is that if there is a low barrier to exploiting aid (e.g. humanitarian and food aid) then there will be increased competition between warring parties and civilians, and hence more civilian fatalities. Third, high barrier funding (e.g. education aid) will motivate contests over territorial control and increase military fatalities. This dissertation uses geo-coded aid commitments data and introduces data of warring parties’ battleground control in sub-Saharan Africa, 1989–2008. The research design relies on propensity score matching where pairs of observations are matched based on a range of covariates. The results concerning barriers to exploitation are partially supported. High barrier aid increases military fatalities whereas low barrier aid has little impact on violence. Greater funding concentration increases military fatalities substantially compared to if there is low or no funding concentration. In line with theory, greater funding concentration does not increase civilian fatalities.

My research seeks to explain the evolution of trade policy debates among American business leaders between World War I and the 1960s. The key finding is that a new framework for discussing trade policy was widely adopted after the United States became a creditor nation during World War I. This framework related tariffs and imports to exports, international lending and American foreign policy. High levels of imports ceased to be a threat and instead came to be seen as a pre-requisite for high levels of exports and a well-functioning global economy; raising the levels of imports, including through tariff cuts, became a strategy for providing American allies and debtors with dollar revenues. This new insight into the political economy of American foreign economic policy is based on new evidence from the archival records of business associations and a wide range of other primary and secondary sources. In addition to bringing to light new evidence, my research also addresses some of the gaps that still exist in the literature on the history of the foreign economic policy of the United States, the Cold War and transatlantic relations.

L’objectif sous-jacent aux trois chapitres qui composent cette thèse, est une meilleure compréhension de l’incidence des politiques publiques dont les impacts diffèrent entre secteurs hétérogènes. Nous déclinons cette analyse à trois types de politiques publiques au cœur de la macro-économie contemporaine : (i) une politique environnementale (ii) une politique d’aide au développement et (iii) une politique de déficits jumeaux. A travers ces trois chapitres, nous soutenons que les impacts sectoriels des politiques jouent un rôle crucial dans l’évaluation des politiques et dans la détermination de la politique optimale. Le premier chapitre se concentre sur la taxe sur la pollution. Il fournit un modèle théorique qui explique pourquoi il existe une relation négative entre le revenu des ménages et leur soutien pour la taxe sur la pollution. Dans le deuxième chapitre, j’étudie les impacts macroéconomiques d’une politique d’aide au développement et je considère deux secteurs: secteur des biens échangeables (T-secteur) et le secteur des biens non-échangeables (N-secteur). Je considère deux types d’aide étrangère: (i) une aide distribuée par des transferts forfaitaires aux ménages et (ii) une aide destinée à financer les investissements publics. J'étudie l'impact de la libéralisation du marché des capitaux sur la forme optimale et la performance de l'aide au développement. Le troisième chapitre est centré sur les déficits jumeaux : un déficit de la balance courante induit par un déficit de l'équilibre budgétaire. L'analyse économétrique du papier montre que les pays ayant adopté une négociation salariée centralisée présentent des déficits jumeaux plus faibles que les autres. Ce chapitre fournit aussi un modèle théorique pour expliquer ces résultats empiriques. / In this dissertation, I study the implications of policies with heterogeneous sectoral impacts in three separate research fields of macroeconomics: (i) environmental policy, (ii) foreign aid and (iii) the political economy of the twin deficits. Through the three chapters of this thesis, it is argued that, in all these three contexts, the sectoral impacts of policies play important roles in the policy evaluation and in the determination of optimal policy. In the first chapter, the policy of concern is the pollution tax. The paper provides a theoretical model to explain why in top income percentiles, there can be a negative relationship between household's income and their support for pollution tax. In the second chapter, I study the macroeconomic impacts of foreign aid and I consider two sectors: tradable sector (T-sector) and non-tradable sector (N-sector). I consider two forms of foreign aid: (i) aid which is transferred to the households and (ii) aid which is used to finance public investment. I investigate the impact of the liberalization of capital market on the optimal form and on the performance of foreign aid. In the third chapter, I consider the same sectors as in the second chapter : T-sector and N-sector. The focus of this chapter is rather on the political economy of the twin deficits: a deficit in current account induced by a deficit in fiscal balance. Econometric analysis of the paper finds evidence that wage centralization, in a cross-section of industrialized economies, is significantly associated with lower deficits in current account and budget balance. The paper provides a political economy framework to explain this empirical finding.

Foreign aid is publicly motivated by a moral obligation to help the poor and develop underdeveloped countries. Donors have invested more than US$2.3 trillion in foreign aid, but despite this significant investment, 3 billion people are still living on less than $2 a day, 840 million are hungry, 10 million children die from preventable disease, and 1 billion adults are illiterate. This study focuses on the impact of foreign aid on economic growth and development of underdeveloped countries. It was found that many variables influence growth and development and that cross-country regression analysis is an inappropriate method to measure the effectiveness of aid. The methodology is too generalist, and treats foreign aid as a homogenous entity that works equally in all countries in all types of environment and across all times. There is an urgent need to develop a new methodology for measuring the effectiveness of foreign aid. / Development Studies / M. A. (Development Studies)

This paper aims to describe the dynamics of objective health and welfare in five populations, from the year 2000 to 2009, qua a methodological study. It proposes a three step approach to ensure the validity criteria in the conducted research process: firstly, to identify the relevant variables as predictors of the two phenomena, empiric studies and sociological theories by Esping-Andersen (1999) Nussbaum (1999, 2000, 2011), were consulted. This (with the data availability) frames the study to include five related categories of objective health and welfare indicators, including (1) demographic (e. g. life expectancy (LE), total fertility rate (TFR)), (2) child-welfare (i. e. under-five mortality rate (U5MR), (3) welfare services (immunization coverage and prevalence of tuberculosis (TB)), (4) education, and (5) indicators on health expenditure (HE). The applied theoretical frame–in a combination with the four posed research questions–indicates a need of an overall methodological approach that is primary quantitative. The data analysis follows an observational epidemiological type that is descriptive study, to analyse the indicators in five populations and two control groups. The study obtains descriptive data from three data bases, which are selected upon a qualitative analysis, to account for their validity and reliability. Further data analysis is strengthened qua the inclusion of the two control groups of populations, when appropriate. Since it wasn’t possible to compare data on populations across time, due to different data production methodologies. Main findings indicate that HE, immunization, TFR, male and female LE, U5MR and school enrolment, tend to diverge between and within the five populations, expressed in absolute and relative terms. The comparison of the estimated data for the five populations with the two control groups of populations, shows that most objective health and welfare indicators tend to converge, (within categories 1, 2 and 3, except TFR) when expressed in absolute and relative terms. When estimated data is analysed in the light of two sociological theories, it is evident that the existing gap between male and female LE, U5MR, and HE indicators can improve further. / B

發展援助議題一直是國際社會相當重要的議題，臺灣在面臨外交困境之際，仍致力於從事國際援助。然而，國際新興援助國的興起，加上發展中國家的轉變，對外援助趨勢逐漸朝向以受援國為主要核心價值的發展。近年來，緬甸逐漸對外開放，不但成為國際發展合作的新焦點，亦成為臺灣接觸的對象。本研究歸納整理國際發展援助的趨勢，並以緬甸為案例，利用文獻分析與深度訪談來分析當代援助模式。此外，為使本研究更具全球意義，將其他國家與國際組織對緬甸的發展合作策略納入分析，探討目前新興國家與緬甸的發展合作模式，並指出目前我國所面臨的援助有效性問題。 在全球化下的今日，僅是透過援助難以使一國持續向上發展，唯有結合投資才能促進發展。研究結果發現，相對於私部門因我國公部門受國際政治限制，使得援助效益不如預期。為此，本研究認為若能利用官方對外援助鼓勵我國私人企業對外投資，不僅能提升政府援助效率，亦可強化我國與受援國之經濟，進而帶動其他發展，對於我國與東南亞國家而言，為雙贏局面。 / Even under diplomatic plight, Taiwan, for long, has been committed to development assistance due to its importance to international community. During the past decade, with the rise of newly emerging donors and certain shifts within developing countries, rule of game has quickly changed. The need of recipients has become the focus of foreign aid, and this research intends to study if Taiwan’s assistance follows such emerging rules. Due to its ascending degree of opening-up, Myanmar has stepped into the spotlight of international and Taiwanese development cooperation in the past few years. To explore Taiwan’s foreign aid efficiency, the author will use Myanmar as a case, summarizing the trends in international development assistance, examining the strategies of different countries and international organizations, and comparing Taiwan’s development methods in this country. In the era of globalization, it is difficult to promote a country’s development without investment. The result of this study indicate that Taiwan’s foreign aid is ineffective due to （domestic）political restriction, therefore, if Taiwan can use official assistance to encourage private sectors to invest abroad, it will not only improve the efficiency of government assistance but also strengthen the economic link between Taiwan and recipient countries. Therefore creates a mutual-benefit situation for Taiwan and Southeast Asian countries.

傳統對援助的認知是兩方互動中有著「施與受的單向關係」，但今日轉變為兩方透過援助為名來進行發展之需要的「夥伴關係」。本研究採用印尼雅萬高鐵的個案來探討究竟是何種考量促使印尼做出選擇，所以才促成雅萬高鐵建設與中國進行合作。在方法上藉由文獻分析探討中國以及印尼彼此的合作意圖，並透過相關資料的蒐集、整理與分析，找出適當的證據來支撐並解釋印尼雅萬高鐵的建設為什麼是與中國合作的原因，最後從對於該項個案的分析延伸探討中國的援助在東南亞是否展現了一種援助上的新殖民主義行為。 中國的高鐵外交主要特色在於政府主導、商業取向以及戰略性選擇，而高鐵建設也成為現階段中國實力的展現，以及對外關係合作上的優先手段與工具。本文對中國的探討，發現雅萬高鐵並不能單純視之為援助國與受援國「求雙贏」的商業投資合作案，反倒是個充滿著援助國為「求所得」的政經援助合作案。 佐科威的施政願景需要大量基礎建設來帶動國家發展，而中國能夠以划算的方式提供印尼發展所需的技術，專業知識和資金。同時，中國所提出的方案其建設所需時間較日本短，工程期間將經歷印尼總統選舉，所以若能如期完工，將對佐科威的連任帶來助益。本文透過對印尼的討論足見雅萬高鐵的合作成案是建基在受援國本身的政治經濟想望中，而不單是援助國單方面的決定。 透過本研究之考察可以發現中國對印尼的援助並未具有獨佔或壟斷的權力，印尼擁有援助中的自主權來與中國進行協商並議價雅萬高鐵的合作方向。從這些面向觀之，中國和印尼間並不存在著殖民式關係，印尼在雅萬高鐵中的角色也不是被剝削或依賴的關係，反倒擁有左右中國的能力，因此很難將中印(尼)在雅萬高鐵合作的關係貼上新殖民主義的標籤。最後，本文認為透過對援助知識的探討，對於我國未來的國際參與將有所助益。 / A great deal of previous research into foreign aid has focused on ‘Aid Dependency’. However, there has been increasing attention paid to ‘Partnership’ between Donors and Recipients. This paper presents an analysis of cooperative interaction within the politics of aid, with a particular focus on Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Rail. By means of textual analysis and case studies, the study has collected rich data which enable descriptions of the critical reasons of cooperative interaction between China and Indonesia in Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Rail project. Besides, in terms of case, the correlations between China’s aid intention and Indonesia’s development goal were calculated to determine the relationship of Neo-colonialism between these two variables. The results obtained confirm that China’s High Speed Rail Diplomacy shows three characteristics¬─State-led、Business-driven and Strategic choice. Using High Speed Rail to foster infrastructure assistance becomes a major tool in China’s foreign aid technique. These findings shed light on Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Rail project is not only a commercial contract but also a political deal. Additionally, results of this study revealed that President Jokowi pursue a macro Indonesia’s national development vision, infrastructures stand for a priority position in his thought. Because China’s aid is more cost-effective than Japan’s program, and China’s program suits Jokowi’s political intention, it facilitates Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Rail is the China-Indonesia cooperation project. It means Recipients can grip ownership in development assistance, the politics of aid shows a new image that recipients can bargain their goal with donors. It can be concluded that China's aid to Indonesia does not have exclusive or monopoly power. Indonesia has the ownership to negotiate with China and bargain for the cooperation of the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Rail. From these perspectives, there is no colonial relationship between China and Indonesia. In the case, Indonesia is not exploited or dependent on China. Instead, it has the ability to influence China. Therefore, it cannot be seen as a Neo-colonialism. Finally, based on these findings, this study suggests that we need to strengthen the discussions about Foreign Aid or Development Assistance. These findings have important implications for the Republic of China (Taiwan), it will make a useful contribution to Taiwan’s international participation.

In the last two decades, more than half of the countries in the world have introduced a reform process in their power industries and billions of dollars have been spent on liberalizing electricity markets around the world. This thesis presents a doctoral research concerned with the cross-country empirical analysis of the electricity market reforms. The thesis is in three-paper format; that is, we present three independent but related stand-alone papers. The first paper focuses on the impact of power market reforms on electricity price-cost margins and industrial/residential price ratios. It investigates this issue by looking at the impact of the electricity industry reforms on residential and industrial electricity price-cost margins and their effect on industrial/residential price ratios. Using panel data from 63 developed and developing countries covering the period 1982–2009, empirical models are developed and analysed. The results suggest that each individual reform step has different impact on price-cost margins and industrial/residential price ratios for each consumer and country group. That is to say, our findings imply that similar reform steps may have different impacts in different countries, which supports the idea that reform prescription for a specific country cannot easily be transferred to another one with similar success. The second paper explores whether the question of why some countries are able to implement more extensive reforms is closely related to the question of why some countries have better institutions than others. It analyses this question by using an empirical econometric model based on Poisson regression with cross-section data covering 51 states in US, 13 provinces in Canada and 51 other countries. The study concludes that both the background of the chairperson and the minister/governor and institutional endowments of a country are important determinants of how far reforms have gone in a country. Considering the fact that ideological considerations, political composition of governments and educational/professional background of leaders have played and will play a crucial role throughout the reform process; the third paper attempts to discover the impact of political economic variables on the liberalization process in electricity markets. It develops and analyses empirical models using panel data from 55 developed and developing countries covering the period 1975–2010. The results suggest that a portion of the differences in the reform experiences of reforming countries in the past three decades can be explained by differences in the political structure, in the ideology of the government and in the professional and educational backgrounds of the political leaders.

Cette thèse est une contribution à la réflexion du rôle dynamique du Canada dans le soutien international au développement démocratique. Elle dresse un bilan des actions menées, entre 2006 et 2012, par l’Agence canadienne de développement international (ACDI), principal organe d’aide du Canada, en appui à la gouvernance démocratique au Mali, pays de concentration de l’aide canadienne. Elle soutient que les motivations de la coopération canadienne au Mali sont ambiguës et que les résultats sont mitigés. Les progrès accomplis ces dernières années ont été fragilisés par les conséquences de la crise sécuritaire et politique de 2012 et la suspension de l’aide bilatérale canadienne a compromis l’évolution dynamique de ses projets. La démarche analytique combine une approche constructiviste critique avec une analyse inductive pour l’interprétation des motivations ambiguës et des résultats mitigés obtenus. L’étude a été conduite au moyen d'analyses documentaires et d'entretiens semi-directifs approfondis auprès d’une dizaine de personnes ressources.

In the last few decades the European Union (EU) and its members have emphasized the importance of human rights and the need to improve human rights conditions in Third World countries. In this research project, I attempted to find out whether the European Union and its members practice what they preach by giving precedence to countries that respect human rights through their Official Development Assistance (ODA) program. Furthermore, I tried to analyze whether European integration occurs at the foreign policy level through aid allocation. Based on the literatures on political conditionality and on the relationship between human rights and foreign aid allocation, I expected that all EU members promote principles of good governance by rewarding countries that protect the human rights of their citizens. I conducted a cross-sectional time-series selection model over all recipients of ODA for each of the twelve members for which I have data, the European Commission, and the aggregate EU disbursements from 1979 to 1998.