All Programs
Program Area: TDF

Transparent Development Footprints

Tracking underreported financial flows

As officially-reported Western aid becomes a smaller and smaller fraction of total financing for sustainable development, AidData is pioneering new methods to track the large and growing number of sustainable development investments made by non-Western governments like China and Qatar, non-state actors like companies and private philanthropies, and low income and middle income countries themselves.

Featured In:

Blog Posts

September 2018

Chinese infrastructure investments reduce inequalities in developing countries

Using the most comprehensive dataset of Chinese development project locations ever assembled, a new AidData working paper shows that Chinese infrastructure investments narrow economic inequalities within developing countries.

The India-Pakistan border in 2015, as viewed from the International Space Station. Photo by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center, in the public domain.
August 2018

A volley of words—and new data—on China’s diplomatic reach

A recent report by AidData informed and incited discussion of China’s growing public diplomacy activities in East Asia and Pacific.

Sports Ministers from South Korea, China and Japan meet in 2016 in Pyeongchang.
June 2018

Chinese public diplomacy in East Asia and the Pacific: Is it working?

A new report from AidData chronicles the nature and impact of China’s diplomatic programs.

Culture ministers representing China (left) and Korea (right) in discussion at the 8th Korea-China-Japan Culture Minister’s Meeting in 2016 in Korea. Photo by Jeon Han/Republic of Korea via Flickr, licensed under (CC BY-SA 2.0).
April 2018

Russia’s foreign aid re-emerges

Little is known about Russia’s foreign aid. We examine the evidence to see what makes Moscow's spending different.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (center) and Kyrgyzstan’s President Sooronbay Jeenbekov (left) at an informal meeting of the heads of the Commonwealth of Independent States in December 2017. Kyrgyzstan is the #1 recipient of Russian foreign aid. Photo by the Office of the President of Russia, licensed under (CC by 4.0).
All TDF Posts

Publications

64
AidData Working Paper

Connective Financing: Chinese Infrastructure Projects and the Diffusion of Economic Activity in Developing Countries

Richard Bluhm, Axel Dreher, Andreas Fuchs, Bradley Parks, Austin Strange, Michael Tierney

2018-09-11
61
AidData Working Paper

China in Africa: Competition for Traditional Development Finance Institutions?

Chris Humphrey, Katharina Michaelowa

2018-07-25
59
AidData Working Paper

The Effects of Chinese Aid on State Legitimacy in Africa: Cross-National and Sub-National Evidence from Surveys, Survey Experiments, and Behavioral Games

Robert A. Blair, Philip Roessler

2018-07-23
AidData Policy Report

Ties That Bind: Quantifying China's public diplomacy and its "good neighbor" effect

Samantha Custer, Brooke Russell, Matthew DiLorenzo, Mengfan Cheng, Siddhartha Ghose, Jacob Sims, Jennifer Turner, Harsh Desai

2018-06-27
54
AidData Working Paper

The Effects of Trade, Aid, and Investment on China's Image in Developing Countries

Vera Z. Eichenauer, Andreas Fuchs, Lutz Brückner

2018-06-26
52
AidData Working Paper

Aid Curse with Chinese Characteristics? Chinese Development Flows and Economic Reforms

Samuel Brazys, Krishna Chaitanya Vadlamannati

2018-05-25
50
AidData Working Paper

Chinese Development Assistance and Household Welfare in Sub-Saharan Africa

Bruno Martorano, Laura Metzger, Marco Sanfilippo

2018-05-23
Journal Article
World Development

Natural resource sector FDI, government policy, and economic growth: Quasi-experimental evidence from Liberia

Jonas B. Bunte, Harsh Desai, Kanio Gbala, Bradley C. Parks, Daniel Miller Runfola

2018-03-20

Note: A version of this article was previously published as an AidData Working Paper.

Journal Article
International Studies Quarterly

Apples and Dragon Fruits: The Determinants of Aid and Other Forms of State Financing from China to Africa

Axel Dreher, Andreas Fuchs, Bradley C Parks, Austin M Strange, Michael J Tierney

2018-02-01

Note: A version of this article was previously published as an AidData Working Paper.

46
AidData Working Paper

Aid, China, and Growth: Evidence from a New Global Development Finance Dataset

Axel Dreher, Andreas Fuchs, Bradley Parks, Austin M. Strange, Michael J. Tierney

2017-10-10
Methodology

AidData's TUFF Methodology, Version 1.3

Austin M. Strange, Mengfan Cheng, Brooke Russell, Siddhartha Ghose, and Bradley Parks

2017-10-09
Methodology

AidData TUFF Coder Instructions, Version 1.3

Austin M. Strange, Mengfan Cheng, Brooke Russell, Siddhartha Ghose, and Bradley Parks

2017-10-09
Journal Article

Tracking Underreported Financial Flows: China’s Development Finance and the Aid–Conflict Nexus Revisited

Austin M. Strange, Axel Dreher, Andreas Fuchs, Bradley C. Parks, Michael J. Tierney

2017-05-01

Note: A version of this article was previously published as a working paper.

Journal Article
The Review of International Organizations

International organizations and development finance: Introduction to the special issue

Daniel L. Nielson, Bradley C. Parks, Michael J. Tierney

2017-03-01
Journal Article
The Review of International Organizations

Bad neighbors? How co-located Chinese and World Bank development projects impact local corruption in Tanzania

Samuel Brazys, Johan A. Elkink, Gina Kelly

2017-03-01

Note: A version of this article was previously published as an AidData Working Paper.

Journal Article
Review of International Studies

Canary in the coal mine? China, the UNGA, and the changing world order

Samuel Brazys, Alexander Dukalskis

2017-02-20
34
AidData Working Paper

Natural Resource Sector FDI and Growth in Post-Conflict Settings: Subnational Evidence from Liberia

Jonas B. Bunte, Harsh Desai, Kanio Gbala, Brad Parks, Daniel Miller Runfola

2017-02-01

Update: A revised version of this paper has been published in World Development.

33
AidData Working Paper

Chinese Aid and Local Corruption

Ann-Sofie Isaksson, Andreas Kotsadam

2016-12-02

Update: A revised version of this paper has been published in the Journal of Public Economics.

32
AidData Working Paper

Forest Cover Impacts of Chinese Development Projects in Ecologically Sensitive Areas

Ariel BenYishay, Bradley Parks, Daniel Runfola, Rachel Trichler

2016-12-01
Methodology

An Open-Source Methodology for Tracking Natural Resource Concessions in Liberia: Version 1.0

Harsh Desai, Miranda Zhonghui Lv, Charles Perla, Brad Parks

2016-10-01
26
AidData Working Paper

The Dragon's Curse? China, the World Bank, and Perceptions of Corruption in Tanzania

Gina Kelly, Samuel Brazys, Johan A. Elkink

2016-05-04

Update: A revised version of this paper has been published in the Review of International Organizations.

Journal Article
The Journal of Development Studies

'Ground-Truthing' Chinese Development Finance in Africa: Field Evidence from South Africa and Uganda

Edwin Muchapondwa, Daniel Nielson, Bradley C. Parks, Austin M. Strange, Michael J. Tierney

2016-05-02

Note: A version of this article was previously published as an AidData Working Paper.

Journal Article

Rogue aid? An empirical analysis of China's aid allocation

Axel Dreher and Andreas Fuchs

2016-03-22
19
AidData Working Paper

Are "New" Donors Challenging World Bank Conditionality?

Diego Hernandez

2016-01-01

Update: A revised version of this paper has been published in World Development.

15
AidData Working Paper

Apples and Dragon Fruits: The Determinants of Aid and Other Forms of State Financing From China to Africa

Axel Dreher, Andreas Fuchs, Bradley Parks, Austin M. Strange, Michael J. Tierney

2015-10-01

Update: A revised version of this paper has been published in International Studies Quarterly.

Research Summary: China and the Western Donors: More Similar than Different?

Tanya Sethi

2015-10-01

Update: A revised version of the paper this research summary covers has been published in International Studies Quarterly.

Methodology

AidData’s TUFF Methodology, Version 1.2

Austin M. Strange, Bradley Parks, Charles Perla, Harsh Desai

2015-09-01
12
AidData Working Paper

'Ground-Truthing' Chinese Development Finance in Africa: Field Evidence from South Africa and Uganda

Edwin Muchapondwa, Daniel Nielson, Bradley Parks, Austin M. Strange, Michael J. Tierney

2015-08-01

Update: A revised version of this paper has been published in the Journal of Development Studies.

Journal Article
Globalization and Health

China's Role as a Global Health Donor in Africa: What Can We Learn from Studying Under Reported Resource Flows?

Karen A. Grepin, Victoria Y. Fan, Gordon C. Shen, Lucy Chen

2014-12-01
3
AidData Working Paper

Aid on Demand: African Leaders and the Geography of China's Foreign Assistance

Axel Dreher, Andreas Fuchs, Roland Hodler, Bradley C. Parks, Paul A. Raschky, Michael J. Tierney

2014-11-01
Journal Article
International Studies Review

Rising Powers and the Regime for Development Finance

Michael J. Tierney

2014-09-01
Journal Article

Aid to Africa: Helpful or Harmful?

Bradley C. Parks, Austin M. Strange

2014-06-01
Methodology

AidData's TUFF Methodology, Version 1.1

Austin M. Strange, Brian O’Donnell, Daniel Gamboa, Bradley Parks, Charles Perla

2013-12-01
Methodology
Center for Global Development

China's Development Finance to Africa: A Media-Based Approach to Data Collection

Austin Strange, Bradley Parks, Michael J. Tierney, Andreas Fuchs, Axel Dreher, Vijaya Ramachandran

2013-04-29

Update: A revised version of this paper was published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution.

Methodology

AidData’s Media-Based Data Collection Methodology, Version 1.0

Austin M. Strange, Brian O’Donnell, Daniel Gamboa, Bradley Parks

2013-04-01

Program Team

Policy Analysis

Samantha Custer

Director of Policy Analysis
Policy Analysis

Brooke Russell

Senior Program and Technology Manager
Policy Analysis

Siddhartha Ghose

Analytics Manager
Policy Analysis

Brook Lautenslager

Software Lead
Policy Analysis

Joyce Lin

Junior Program Manager
Policy Analysis

Mengfan Cheng

Junior Program Manager

For Partnership and Media Inquiries

Partnerships & Communications

Alex Wooley

Director of Partnerships and Communications

Partners