Noblesse Oblige: Status Motivations and Public Support for Foreign Aid
What drives support for foreign aid? Drawing on multidisciplinary research, we argue that international status is a powerful yet neglected factor driving public opinion toward aid. Using an original survey experiment in the U.S., we show that the more Americans value their country’s international standing, the more they support the provision of foreign aid. Observationally, respondents are more supportive of aid the higher their reported need for national status—whose substantive impact is comparable to that of important factors traditionally considered in foreign aid research. Moreover, respondents experimentally cued to consider that a reduction in foreign aid spending would hurt U.S. international status are more supportive of foreign aid than respondents not cued to consider such an impact. Our analysis indicates that framing foreign aid in terms of donor status can encourage richer states to help more those in need
Date: 26 October 2023, 12:30 (Thursday, 3rd week, Michaelmas 2023)
Venue: Manor Road Building, Manor Road OX1 3UQ
Venue Details: Seminar Room G
Speaker: Marina Duque (UCL)
Organising department: Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR)
Part of: IR Research Colloquium
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Daniel Burton