18 February 2020
CEBI research on 'elite capture of foreign aid' in global media
The Economist and The Financial Times cover still unpublished research by Niels Johannesen on elite capture of foreign aid (coauthored with Jørgen Juel Andersen and Bob Rijkers). The research combines data on aid disbursements and foreign bank deposits to estimate that around 7.5% of foreign aid to the most aid-dependent countries is diverted to offshore accounts by political elites. Both media suggest that the resignation of World Bank Chief Economist Penny Goldberg may be linked to the paper being blocked at the bank’s executive level.