A Network Model Approach to International Aid
Decisions made by international aid donors regarding the allocation of their aid budgets to recipients can be mathematically modelled using network theory. The many countries and multilateral organisations providing developmental aid, mostly to developing countries, have numerous competing or confli...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Entropy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/25/4/641 |
| _version_ | 1797605606749634560 |
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| author | Joe Scattergood Steven Bishop |
| author_facet | Joe Scattergood Steven Bishop |
| author_sort | Joe Scattergood |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Decisions made by international aid donors regarding the allocation of their aid budgets to recipients can be mathematically modelled using network theory. The many countries and multilateral organisations providing developmental aid, mostly to developing countries, have numerous competing or conflicting interests, biases and motivations, often obscured by a lack of transparency and confused messaging. Using network theory, combined with other mathematical methods, these inter-connecting and inter-dependent variables are identified, revealing the complicated properties and dynamics of the international aid system. Statistical techniques are applied to the vast amount of available, open data to first understand the complexities and then identify the key variables, focusing principally on bilateral aid flows. These results are used to create a weighted network model which is subsequently adapted for use by a hypothetical aid recipient. By incorporating modern portfolio theory into this weighted network model and taking advantage of a donor’s reasons for allocating their aid budgets to that recipient, a simulation is carried out treating the problem as an optimal investment portfolio of aid determinant ‘assets’ which illustrates how a recipient can maximise their aid receipts. Suggestions are also made for further uses and adaptations of this weighted network model. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:03:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ca474a5c894d45159b91ba9ea81cb103 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1099-4300 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:03:28Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Entropy |
| spelling | doaj.art-ca474a5c894d45159b91ba9ea81cb1032023-11-17T19:08:59ZengMDPI AGEntropy1099-43002023-04-0125464110.3390/e25040641A Network Model Approach to International AidJoe Scattergood0Steven Bishop1Department of Mathematics, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UKDepartment of Mathematics, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UKDecisions made by international aid donors regarding the allocation of their aid budgets to recipients can be mathematically modelled using network theory. The many countries and multilateral organisations providing developmental aid, mostly to developing countries, have numerous competing or conflicting interests, biases and motivations, often obscured by a lack of transparency and confused messaging. Using network theory, combined with other mathematical methods, these inter-connecting and inter-dependent variables are identified, revealing the complicated properties and dynamics of the international aid system. Statistical techniques are applied to the vast amount of available, open data to first understand the complexities and then identify the key variables, focusing principally on bilateral aid flows. These results are used to create a weighted network model which is subsequently adapted for use by a hypothetical aid recipient. By incorporating modern portfolio theory into this weighted network model and taking advantage of a donor’s reasons for allocating their aid budgets to that recipient, a simulation is carried out treating the problem as an optimal investment portfolio of aid determinant ‘assets’ which illustrates how a recipient can maximise their aid receipts. Suggestions are also made for further uses and adaptations of this weighted network model.https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/25/4/641international aidforeign aidcomplex systemsnetwork sciencenetwork theoryeconometrics |
| spellingShingle | Joe Scattergood Steven Bishop A Network Model Approach to International Aid Entropy international aid foreign aid complex systems network science network theory econometrics |
| title | A Network Model Approach to International Aid |
| title_full | A Network Model Approach to International Aid |
| title_fullStr | A Network Model Approach to International Aid |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Network Model Approach to International Aid |
| title_short | A Network Model Approach to International Aid |
| title_sort | network model approach to international aid |
| topic | international aid foreign aid complex systems network science network theory econometrics |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/25/4/641 |
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