Journal of Economics and Development Studies

The Egalitarian Impact of Aid on Some Latin American Countries
Mariano González, José María Larrú

Abstract
Literature on the relationship between aid and inequality is scarce and contradictory. Most studies are based on dynamic panel data using internal instruments to deal with endogeneity. In addition to these techniques, this article introduces the persistency of inequality and a double-censored Gini index. We apply for the first time a dynamic and double-censored panel data estimated applying the Simulated Maximum Likelihood method to a sample of 18 Latin American countries for 1990-2008. The main findings are that public expenditure in consumption and foreign direct investment had a positive effect on inequality whereas aid had a negative (egalitarian) effect. Neither taxes nor public social spending had a significant effect on inequality.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/jeds.v2n4a10