Aiding together? Europeans’ attitudes on common aid policy

Abstract:

This article explores the determinants of individual support for common aid policy in the European Union, the largest multilateral contributor of foreign aid. Using the 2016 Eurobarometer survey data, I first investigate the influence of individuals’ assessments of aid objectives on support for multilateral disbursements, and second, I explore the effect of country-level factors, population and economic power. Multilevel regression models reveal that those who prioritize economic infrastructural projects in developing countries are highly negative of the utilization of EU channels. Conversely, individual preferences for the promotion of democratic reforms and the provision of basic necessities are strongly and positively associated with the dependent variable. The results also demonstrate that individuals living in lower income and less populated polities are more positively disposed towards common aid policy.