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Religion and Foreign Aid

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2018

Alexandra Domike Blackman
Alexandra Domike Blackman*
Affiliation:
Stanford University
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Alexandra Domike Blackman, Stanford University, USA. E-mail: adblackm@stanford.edu
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Abstract

Foreign aid allocations represent one of several important economic policy tools used by governments to realize their foreign policy objectives. Using a conjoint survey of respondents in the United States, this paper shows that recipient country religion is a significant determinant of individual-level foreign aid preferences. In particular, respondents express a preference for giving to Christian-majority countries in contrast to Muslim- or Buddhist-majority countries. This effect is comparable with that of other important determinants of support for foreign aid, such as a country's status as a U.S. ally or trade partner. Importantly, the preference for Christian recipient countries is especially pronounced among Christian, and most notably Evangelical Christian, respondents. This paper explores two potential mechanisms for the effect of religion: country religion as a heuristic and an individual-level preference for giving to co-religionists.

Type
Article
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , September 2018 , pp. 522 - 552
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2018 

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