International rivals often employ foreign aid to shape international institutions and alliances. This paper asks whether Americans are more supportive of allocating aid to Latin America when they learn about China’s aid programs in the region. Since the average citizen lacks detailed knowledge about foreign policy, communication frames could influence citizens’ support for aid. We, therefore, examine how various framing devices (national pride, humanitarian value, and instrumental value) affect public support for aid. Drawing on social psychology’s model of self-identifying with a group, we argue that one’s awareness of donor competition should boost support for aid. We innovate by using two dependent variables: support for giving US aid and the willingness to donate one’s own resources. A survey experiment with a high-quality sample of 2700 respondents reveals that rivalry has a different effect on these dependent variables: informing respondents of donor rivalry increases support for US aid but has no effect on respondents’ willingness to donate their own reward. Additionally, exposing subjects to the combination of rivalry and all three frames boosts approval for using tax dollars as aid; however, only national pride and humanitarian value appeals strengthen the respondents’ willingness to donate their own earnings.
ACVFA. 2008. From the American People: Why the Story That U.S. Foreign Assistance Is Working Must be Told. Washington, DC: US Agency for International Development.
2.
AldrichJ.H.GelpiC.FeaverP.ReiflerK.T. J.. 2006. “Sharp Foreign policy and the electoral connection.” Annual Review of Political Science9:477-502.
3.
AldrichJohn H.SullivanJohn L.BorgidaEugene. 1989. “Foreign Affairs and Issue Voting: Do Presidential Candidates “Waltz Before A Blind Audience?”.” American Political Science Review83 (1):123-141.
4.
AlkerH.R.Jr.1964. “Dimensions of Conflict in the General Assembly.” American Political Science Review58 (3):642-57.
5.
ApodacaClair. 2017. “Foreign Aid as Foreign Policy Tool.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics.
6.
ArenaPhilipPechenkinaAnna O.. 2016. “External Subsidies and Lasting Peace.” Journal of Conflict Resolution60 (7):1278-311.
7.
BakerA.2015. “Race, Paternalism, and Foreign Aid: Evidence From U.S. Public Opinion.” American Political Science Review109 (1):93-109.
8.
BasilDebra ZRidgwayNancy MBasilMichael D. 2006. “Guilt Appeals: The Mediating Effect of Responsibility.” Psychology and Marketing23(12):1035-54.
9.
BearceDavid H.FinkelSteven E.Perez-LinanAnibal S.Rodrıguez-ZepedaJuanSurzhko-HarnedLena. 2013. “Has The New Aid for Trade Agenda Been Export Effective? Evidence on the Impact of US Aft Allocations 1999–2008.” International Studies Quarterly57:163-70.
10.
BennisP.1997. “The United Nations and Palestine: Partition and its Aftermath—UN Stance on Palestine’s Displacement by Creation of Israel.” Arab Studies Quarterly19(3):47–77.
11.
BerinskyAdam. 2007. “Assuming the Costs of War: Events, Elites, and American Public Support for Military Conflict.” Journal of Politics69 (4):975-97.
12.
BlairRobert A.MartyRobertRoesslerPhilip. 2019. “Foreign Aid and Soft Power: Great Power Competition in Africa in the Early 21st Century.” AidData Working Paper 86.
13.
BodensteinThiloFaustJorg. 2017. “Who Cares? European Public Opinion on Foreign Aid and Political Conditionality.” Journal of Common Market Studies55 (5):955-73.
14.
Bueno de MesquitaBruceSmithAlastair. 2007. “Foreign Aid and Policy Concessions.” Journal of Conflict Resolution51 (2):251-84.
15.
Bueno de MesquitaBruceSmithAlastair. 2009. “A Political Economy of Aid.” International Organization63 (2):309-40.
16.
Bueno de MesquitaBruceSmithAlastair. 2010. “The Pernicious Consequences of UN Security Council Membership.” Journal of Conflict Resolution54 (5):667-86.
17.
CameronJohnAnnaHaanstra. 2008. “Development Made Sexy: How it Happened And What it Means.” Third World Quarterly29(8):1475-489.
ChungEunbin. 2022. Pride, Not Prejudice: National Identity as a Pacifying Force in East Asia.Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
20.
ChungEunbinPechenkinaAnna O.. Forthcoming. “Testing the effects of group-affirmation in active conflict: Ukrainians’ trust toward Russia.” PLoS ONE.
21.
CrispB.F.Escobar-LemmonM.C.JonesB.S.JonesM.P.Taylor-RobinsonM.. 2004. “Vote- seeking incentives and legislative representation in six presidential democracies.” Journal of Politics66(3):823-846.
22.
DorfmanAnnaEyalTalBereby-MeyerYoella. 2014. “Proud to Cooperate: The Consideration of Pride Promotes Cooperation in a Social Dilemma.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology55:105-109.
23.
DolanLindsay R.NguyenQuynh. 2021. Mutual gain or resource drain? Attitudes toward international financial assistance during the early COVID-19 pandemic.International Interactions47(6):1131-150.
24.
DovidioJohn F.GaertnerSamuel L.. 2010. Intergroup Bias. In Handbook of social psychology, ed. FiskeS. T.GilbertD. T.LindzeyG.. Newyork: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. pp. 1084–1121.
25.
DreherAxelFuchsAndreas. 2015. “Rogue aid? An empirical analysis of China’s aid allocation” Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d’ economique48:988-023.
26.
DreherASturmJ.. 2012. “Do IMF and World Bank Influence Voting in the UN General Assembly?” Public Choice151:363-97.
27.
DreherANunnenkampP.ThieleR.. 2008. “Does US Aid Buy UN General Assembly Votes? A Disaggregated Analysis.” Public Choice136 (1):139-64.
28.
DreherAxelFuchsAndreasParksBradStrangeAustin M.TierneyMichael J.. 2018. “Apples and Dragon Fruits: The Determinants of aid and Other Forms of State Financing From China to Africa.” International Studies Quarterly62(1):182-94.
29.
DunningThad. 2004. “Conditioning the Effects of Aid: ColdWar Politics, Donor Credibility, and Democracy in Africa.” International Organization58 (2):409-28.
30.
FriedbergAaron L.2018. “Competing with China.” Survival60 (3):7-64.
31.
GalvaniFlaviaMorseStephen. 2004. “Institutional Sustainability: at What Price? UNDP and the New Cost of Sharing Model in Brazil.” Development in Practice14 (3):311-27.
32.
GoldsmithB.E.HoriuchiY.WooT.. 2014. “Doing Well by Doing Good: The Impact of Foreign aid on Foreign Public Opinion.” Quarterly Journal of Political Science9 (1):87-114.
33.
HeinrichTobias. 2013. “When is Foreign Aid Selfish, When is it Selfless?” The Journal of Politics75 (2):422-435.
34.
HeinrichTobiasKobayashiYoshiharuPetersonTimothy M.. 2017. “Sanction Consequences and Citizen Support: A Survey Experiment” International Studies Quarterly61(1):98-06.
35.
HeinrichTobiasKobayashiYoshiharuLongLeah. 2018. “Voters Get What They Want (When They Pay Attention): Human Rights, Policy Benefits, and Foreign Aid.” International Studies Quarterly62(1):195-207.
36.
HeinrichTobiasKobayashiYoshinaruBryantKristina. 2016. “Public Opinion and Foreign Aid Cuts in Economic Crises.” World Development77:66-79.
37.
HoefflerA.OutramV.. 2011. “Need, Merit, or Self-Interest – What Determines the Allocation of Aid?” Review of Development Economics15(2):237-50.
38.
HolstiO.R.1992. “Public Opinion and Foreign Policy: Challenges to the Almond–Lippmann Consensus Mershon Series: Research Programs and Debates.” International Studies Quarterly36(4):439-66.
39.
HuberMichaela.LeafVan BovenMcGrawA. Peter.Johnson-GrahamLaura. 2011. Whom to help? Immediacy bias in judgments and decisions about humanitarian aid.Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes115 (5):283–93.
40.
HudsonDavidVan Heerde-HudsonJenifferDasandiNiheerSusan GainesN.. 2016. “Emotional pathways to engagement with global poverty: An experimental analysis.” Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association. pp. 1–9
41.
HuhneP.MeyerB.NunnenkampP.. 2014. “Who Benefits From aid for Trade? Comparing the Effects on Recipient Versus Donor Exports.” Journal of Development Studies50 (9):1275-288.
42.
HutchisonEmma. 2014. “A global Politics Of Pity? Disaster Imagery and the Emotional Construction of Solidarity After the 2004 Asian Tsunami.” International Political Sociology8 (1):1-19.
43.
IsenA. M.LevinP. F.. 1972. “Effect of Feeling Good on Helping: Cookies and Kindness.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology21:384-88.
44.
KaneJohn VJasonBarabas2019. “No Harm in Checking: Using Factual Manipulation Checks to Assess Attentiveness in Experiments.” American Journal of Political Science63 (1):234-49.
45.
KasserTimKennon M.Sheldon2000. “Of Wealth and Death: Materialism, Mortality Salience, and Consumption Behavior.” Psychological Science11 (4):348-51.
46.
KegleyC.W.Jr.HookS.W.. 1991. “U.S. Foreign Aid and U.N. Voting: Did Reagan’s Linkage Strategy Buy Deference or Defiance?” International Studies Quarterly35 (3):295-312.
47.
KennedyCourtneyMercerAndrewScottKeeterHatleyNickMcGeeneyKyleyGimenezAlejandra. 2016a. “Evaluating online nonprobability surveys.” Pew Research Center61.
48.
KennedyCourtneyMercerAndrewScottKeeterHatleyNickMcGeeneyKyleyGimenezAlejandra. 2016b. “Evaluating Online Nonprobability Surveys: Vendor choice matters; widespread errors found for estimates based on blacks and Hispanics.” Pew Research Center (May 2): Accessed online at: https://www.pewresearch.org/methods/2016/05/02/evaluating-online-onprobability-urveys/
49.
KjøllesdalKristianWelle-StrandAnne. 2010. “Foreign Aid Strategies: China Taking Over?” Asian Social Science6 (10):3-12.
50.
KobayashiYoshiharuHeinrichTobiasKristin ABryant. 2021. “Public support for development aid during the COVID-19 pandemic.” World Development138:105-48.
51.
KohnoMasaruMontinolaGabriella R.WintersMatthew S.KatoGento. 2021. “Donor Com- petition and Public Support for Foreign Aid Sanctions.” Political Research Quarterly74 (1):212-27.
KuziemkoIlyanaWerkerEric. 2006. “How Much is a Seat on the Security Council Worth? Foreign Aid and Bribery at the United Nations.” Journal of Political Economy1 (114):905-30.
54.
LaiBrianMoreyDaniel S.. 2006. “Impact of Regime Type on the Influence of U.S. Foreign Aid.” Foreign Policy Analysis2 (4):385-404.
55.
LumsdaineDavid Halloran. 1993. Moral Vision in International Politics: The Foreign Aid Regime, 1949-1989. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
MashuriAliZaduqistiEsti. 2014. “National Identification And Collective Emotions as Predictors of Pro-Social Attitudes Toward Islamic Minority Groups in Indonesia.” Europe’s Journal of Psychology10 (2):255-276.
58.
MeernikJamesEric LKruegerStevenC. Poe1998. “Testing Models of U.S. Foreign Policy: Foreign Aid during and after the Cold War.” Journal of Politics60 (1):65-5.
59.
MilnerHelen V.DustinTingley.2013a. “The Choice for Multilateralism: Foreign Aid and American Foreign Policy.” The Review of International Organizations8 (3):313-341.
60.
MilnerHelen V.DustinTingley.2013b. “Public Opinion and Foreign Aid: A Review Essay.” International Interactions39 (3):389-401.
NoelA.TherienJ.-P.. 2002. “Public Opinion and Global Justice.” Comparative Political Studies35 (6):631-656.
65.
OECD, DAC. 2003. “Harmonising Donor Practices for Effective Aid Delivery.” DAC Guidelines and Reference Series.
66.
OyeKenneth A.1992. Eagle in a New World: American Grand Strategy in the Post-Cold War Era.New York: HarperCollins.
67.
PaxtonPamelaStephenKnack. 2012. “Individual and Country-Level Factors Affecting Sup- Port for Foreign Aid.” International Political Science Review33 (2):171-192.
68.
RaiKul B.1980. “Foreign Aid and Voting in the UN General Assembly, 1967–1976.” Journal of Peace Research17 (3):269-277.
69.
RosnerJeremy D.1995. “The Know-Nothings Know Something.” Foreign Policy 101(Winter): 116-29.
70.
SchraederPeter J.HookSteven W.TaylorBruce. 1998. “Clarifying the Foreign Aid Puzzle: A Comparison of American, Japanese, French, and Swedish Aid Flows.” World Politics50 (2):294-323.
71.
ScottoThomas J.ReiflerJasonHudsonDavidVan Heerde-HudsonJennifer. 2017. “We Spend How Much? Misperceptions, Innumeracy, and Support for the Foreign Aid in the United States and Great Britain.” Journal of Experimental Political Science4 (2):119-28.
72.
SmithT. W.KimS.. 2006. “National Pride in Comparative Perspective: 1995/96 and 2003/04.” International Journal of Public Opinion Research18 (1):127-36.
73.
SpanielWilliam. 2020. “Power Transfers, Military Uncertainty, and War.” Journal of Theoretical Politics32 (4):538-556.
74.
SullivanMark P.ThomasLum.2022. “China’s Engagement with Latin America and the Caribbean.” Congressional Research Service February 22.
75.
SunYun. 2014. “China’s Aid to Africa: Monster or Messiah?” Brookings Institution February 7. Accessed online on December 4, 2020.
76.
SwedlundHaley. 2017. “Can foreign aid donors credibly threaten to suspend aid? Evidence from a cross-national survey of donor officials.” Review of International Political Economy24 (3):454-96.
77.
TajfelHenriTurnerJohn C.. 1979. An integrative Theory Of Intergroup Conflict. In The social psychology of inter-group relations, ed. AustinW. G.WorchelS.. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole. pp. 33–47.
78.
TaylorAdam. 2017. “China Treats Its Foreign Aid Like A State Secret.New research aims to reveal it.” The Washington Post October 10.
79.
ThompsonAlexanderVerdierDaniel. 2014. “Multilateralism, Bilateralism, and Regime De- Sign.” International Studies Quarterly58(1):15-28.
80.
TingleyDustin. 2010. “Donors and Domestic Politics: Political Influences on Foreign Aid Commitments.” Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance50 (1):40-9.
81.
TurnerJohn C.HoggMichael A.OakesPenelope J.ReicherStephen D.WetherellMargaret S.. 1987. Rediscovering the social group: A self-categorization theory.Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
82.
USAID. 2012. ADS Chapter 101: Agency Programs and Functions. Washington, DC: US Agency for International Development.
83.
van LeeuwenEsther. 2007. “Restoring Identity Through Outgroup Helping: Beliefs About Inter- National Aid In Response To The December 2004 Tsunami.” European Journal of Social Psychology37 (4):661-71.
84.
van LeeuwenEstherDijkandWilcovanKaynakUmit.2013. “Of Saints and Sinners: How Appeals to Collective Pride and Guilt Affect Outgroup Helping.” Group Processes and Intergroup Relations16 (6):781-96.
85.
WangT.Y.1999. “U.S. Foreign Aid and UN Voting: An Analysis of Important Issues.” International Studies Quarterly43:199-210.
86.
Wilson Center. 2020. “Aid from China and the U.S. to Latin America amid the Covid-19 Crisis.” Latin American Program Updated on July 17; Accessed on July 10, 2020.
87.
WooByungwonChungEunbin. 2018. “Aid for Vote? United Nations General Assembly Voting and American Aid Allocation.” Political Studies66 (4):1002-1026.
88.
WoodsNgaire. 2008. “Whose Aid? Whose Influence? China, Emerging Donors and the Silent Revolution in Development Assistance.” International Affairs84 (6):1205-21.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
