Prof. Travers Child of SKK GSB, together with Prof. Austin Wright (University of Chicago) and Prof. Yun Xiao (University of Gothenburg), has published an article in the highly-regarded Review of Economics and Statistics examining more than 30,000 foreign aid projects across Afghanistan.

The study investigates whether “aid fragmentation”—the extent to which multiple donors operate simultaneously in the same sectors and locations—affects corruption. The findings show that aid can improve governance when responsibility is concentrated among a small number of donors. However, when many donors run overlapping projects, accountability becomes blurred and opportunities for corruption increase.

The resulting policy implication is not to reduce aid, but to improve coordination among aid organizations. In fragile and conflict-affected settings such as Afghanistan, effective coordination may be just as important as aid budgets in determining whether development assistance strengthens governance or creates opportunities for corruption.