Does social capital affect foreign aid allocations?

Abstract

This paper explores the issue of whether countries with high levels of social capital give more foreign aid than others. It is often argued that in countries with high levels of social capital (as measured, for example, by trust, civic norms and membership of community groups) levels of cooperation and altruistic behaviour will be higher. This paper explores whether such altruistic behaviour extends to giving foreign aid. Cross-country data are used to assess whether countries with high levels of social capital give more foreign aid, as a proportion of GDP, than countries where social capital is lower.