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Foreign aid, corruption and internet use
The logic of foreign aid is simple: the more money a country is given, the more it will be able to secure the resources it needs to cultivate success that extends into the future. Unfortunately, that simple formula rarely holds true in the real world.
The chart below shows OECD data on the total amount given -- since 1960 -- to every aid recipient country. Two other data points underlie the simple bar graph: the 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index produced by Transparency International, and rates of internet use per 100 people, provided by the World Bank (for 2011 or the bank's most recent figures). You can use the menu below to manipulate how these data points affect the order and coloring of the chart.
The picture that emerges is one in which the countries that have received greater amounts of aid are more likely to be corrupt and technologically backward. Try, for example, to sort the data by foreign aid received, and color it by the Corruption Perceptions Index. The obvious trend is that a disproportionate number of red (corrupt) countries sit atop this mountain of aid. The same is true for coloring related to internet users per 100 people in the country. One of the most striking examples is South Korea, which despite being given less than US$2 billion since 1960 is ranked second in terms of internet penetration.
Internet access and fair government are two things we would have expected to result from significant amounts of aid. In fact, the opposite appears to be the case.
