Determinants of official development assistance in Lebanon: a pre- and post-war assessment

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the determinants of Official Development Assistance (ODA) flows received by Lebanon from 1970 to 2010. Over this period of time, Lebanon's economy and socio-political reality has been under strain due to the outbreak of the civil war (1975-1990). More specifically, the objective of this paper is to attempt to understand the linkage between ODA and civil armed conflict and as well as other factors that might affect these flows. The importance of examining ODA lies in the fact that these funds might serve as resources in the reconstruction process. ODA per capita amounts in Lebanon seem to be positively linked to both GDP per capita and occurrence of armed conflict, therefore highlighting the importance of political factors in aid allocation.