FOREIGN AID AND HUMAN RIGHTSBy Desmond Ferrell and Sarah Griffin

“The European Union is founded

on a shared determination to

promote peace and stability and

to build a world founded on

respect for human rights,

democracy and the rule of law.

These principles underpin all

aspects of the internal and

external policies of the European

Union.” ~ The Council of the

European Union

DOES EUROPEAN UNION FOREIGN AID IMPROVE HUMAN RIGHTS CONDITIONS IN RECIPIENT COUNTRIES?HYPOTHESIS: YES

EU Foreign Aid

Resp

ect

for

hu

man

ri

gh

ts

BACKGROUND LITERATURE

Emilie Hafner-Burton Sabine Carey Thad Dunning

METHODOLOGY

Vreeland Foreign Aid Data

Cingranelli-Richards (CIRI) Human Rights Index

VARIABLES

Independent Variable: EU foreign aid

Dependent Variable(s): Human Rights (Physical Integrity & Empowerment Rights)

Control Variables: Post- Cold War

GDP per capita

Population

Democracy

War

RESULTS

  Physical

Integrity

 

Disappearance

Political

Imprisonmen

t

Torture Free

Speech

Electoral Self-

Determination

EU Aid 0.001  0.001 -0.000 -0.000 -0.001 -0.001

  (1.45)  (2.45)* (0.59) (0.33) (2.37)* (1.85)

Population -0.000  -0.000 -0.000 -0.000 -0.000 0.000

  (3.07)**  (1.03) (1.05) (2.88)** (0.62) (0.33)

Democracy 0.015 0.003 0.021 -0.002 0.016 0.070

  (1.82) (0.50) (3.83)** (0.93) (2.74)** (10.48)**

War -0.393  -0.370 0.105 -0.020 -0.064 -0.121

  (3.95)**  (4.53)** (1.69) (0.61) (0.93) (1.52)

GDP per

Capita

0.000  0.000 -0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

  (1.69)  (2.59)** (1.05) (0.07) (1.87) (0.70)

Constant 1.285  0.666 0.316 0.075 0.651 0.824

  (15.38)**  (9.70)** (5.13)** (3.30)** (9.39)** (11.39)**

N 465  465 465 465 465 465

ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION

Positive impact in relatively wealthy, democratic countries

Countries impacted by war see a negative correlation between aid dispersals and human rights

EU should reexamine its aid giving policies to poorer countries and countries affected by war

THANK YOU AND…