FOREIGN AID AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: A QUANTILE REGRESSION APPROACH

This paper investigates the impact of foreign aid on human development as measured by the human development index (HDI). We apply quantile regression approach for the data from 124 developing countries covering the period 1980 to 2013. The findings show that in general, aid is positively associated with the human development index. The impact is much greater in countries with low level of human development. Similarly, we find statistically positive impact of aid on HDI income, health, and education indices. The results imply that since aid is positively related with HDI, and HDI is universally accepted as a quantitative measure of human development, then aid can significantly contribute to promoting human welfare.