Research

Publications (peer-reviewed journals)

• Democracy and Aid Donorship (with Angelika Budjan), American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, forthcoming
• Aid, China, and Growth: Evidence from a New Global Development Finance Dataset (with Axel Dreher, Bradley Parks, Austin M. Strange and Michael J. Tierney), American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, forthcoming
• The Effects of Trade, Aid and Investment on China’s Image in Latin America (with Vera Z. Eichenauer and Lutz Brückner), Journal of Comparative Economics, forthcoming
• Does Private Aid Follow the Flag? An Empirical Analysis of Humanitarian Assistance (with Hannes Öhler), World Economy 44(3): 671-705, March 2021
• Is Favoritism a Threat to Chinese Aid Effectiveness? A Subnational Analysis of Chinese Development Projects (with Axel Dreher, Roland Hodler, Bradley Parks, Paul A. Raschky and Michael J. Tierney), World Development 139: 105291, March 2021
• Distortions in Aid Allocation of United Nations Flash Appeals: Evidence from the 2015 Nepal Earthquake (with Vera Z. Eichenauer, Sven Kunze and Eric Strobl), World Development 136: 105023, December 2020
  
• African Leaders and the Geography of China’s Foreign Assistance (with Axel Dreher, Roland Hodler, Bradley Parks, Paul A. Raschky and Michael J. Tierney), Journal of Development Economics 140: 44-71, September 2019
• How Do Firms Respond to Political Tensions? The Heterogeneity of the Dalai Lama Effect on Trade (with Faqin Lin and Cui Hu), China Economic Review 54: 73-93, April 2019
• The Effects of Foreign Aid on Refugee Flows (with Axel Dreher and Sarah Langlotz), European Economic Review 112: 127-147, February 2019
• State Control and the Effects of Foreign Relations on Bilateral Trade (with Christina Davis and Kristina Johnson), Journal of Conflict Resolution 63(2): 405-438, February 2019
• Development Minister Characteristics and Aid Giving (with Katharina Richert), European Journal of Political Economy 53: 186-204, July 2018
• Apples and Dragon Fruits: The Determinants of Aid and Other Forms of State Financing from China to Africa (with Axel Dreher, Bradley Parks, Austin M. Strange and Michael J. Tierney), International Studies Quarterly 62(1): 182-194, March 2018
• The Home Bias in Sovereign Ratings (with Kai Gehring), Journal of the European Economic Association 15(6): 1386-1423, December 2017
• Tracking Under-Reported Financial Flows: China’s Development Finance and the Aid-Conflict Nexus Revisited (with Austin M. Strange, Axel Dreher, Bradley Parks and Michael J. Tierney), Journal of Conflict Resolution 61(5): 935-963, May 2017
• Rogue Aid? An Empirical Analysis of China’s Aid Allocation (with Axel Dreher), Canadian Journal of Economics 48(3): 988-1023, August 2015
• Why Donors of Foreign Aid Do Not Coordinate: The Role of Competition for Export Markets and Political Support (with Hannes Öhler and Peter Nunnenkamp), World Economy 38(2): 255–285, February 2015
• Determinants of Donor Generosity: A Survey of the Aid Budget Literature (with Axel Dreher and Peter Nunnenkamp), World Development 56: 172–199, April 2014
• Paying a Visit: The Dalai Lama Effect on International Trade (with Nils-Hendrik Klann), Journal of International Economics 91(1): 164-177, September 2013
• New Donors (with Axel Dreher and Peter Nunnenkamp), International Interactions 39(3): 402-415, June 2013
• The Needy Donor: An Empirical Analysis of India's Aid Motives (with Krishna Chaitanya Vadlamannati), World Development 44:110-128, April 2013
• Does Terror Increase Aid? (with Axel Dreher), Public Choice 149(3-4): 337-363 (special issue "The Many Faces of Counterterrorism"), December 2011

Under review

• Mask Wars: China's Exports of Medical Goods in Times of COVID-19 (with Lennart C. Kaplan, Krisztina Kis-Katos, Sebastian S. Schmidt, Felix Turbanisch and Feicheng Wang) [Working Paper: Kiel Working Paper No. 2161, August 2020]
• Connective Financing: Chinese Infrastructure Projects and the Diffusion of Economic Activity in Developing Countries (with Richard Bluhm, Axel Dreher, Bradley Parks, Austin M. Strange and Michael J. Tierney) [Working Paper: CESifo Working Paper No. 8344, June 2020]
• Emergency Aid 2.0 (with Nils-Hendrik Klann) [Working paper: Beiträge zur Jahrestagung des Vereins für Socialpolitik 2013: Wettbewerbspolitik und Regulierung in einer globalen Wirtschaftsordnung - Session: International Trade and Finance, No. D08-V3, September 2013]

Book project

• Banking on Beijing: The Aims and Impacts of China’s Overseas Development Program (with Axel Dreher, Bradley Parks, Austin M. Strange and Michael J. Tierney), accepted for publication at Cambridge University Press

Papers in progress

• Does India Use Development Finance to Compete with China? A Subnational Analysis (with Gerda Asmus, Vera Z. Eichenauer and Bradley Parks)
• Is Davos More Than a Boondoggle? (with Andrew K. Rose and Sebastian S. Schmidt)
• The Speed of Emergency Aid (with Samuel Siewers)
• Light of Their Life: Country Leaders' Spouses and Regional Favoritism (with Axel Dreher, Andreas Kammerlander, Lennart Kaplan, Charlotte Robert and Kerstin Unfried)
• Competing for Aid Recipients? Donor Responses to Chinese Development Finance (with Soo Yeon Kim and Austin M. Strange)
• Sovereign Debt, Regime Type and the Rise of China: Re-Reconsidering the Democratic Advantage (with Kai Gehring and Daniel McDowell)
• Feed the Executive Board: Corporate Governance and International Food Aid (with Marta Curto-Grau)
• Analyzing the Effectiveness of Emergency Aid from Outer Space (with Vera Z. Eichenauer and Sven Kunze)

Collected works​

• China's Development Aid to Africa and its Consequences (with Elena Quante), Past, Present and Future of African-Asian Relations (edited by Christian Suter and Patrick Ziltener), LIT, forthcoming in 2021
• BRICS and Foreign Aid (with Gerda Asmus and Angelika Müller), The Political Economy of the BRICS Countries, Volume 3: BRICS and the Global Economy (edited by Soo Yeon Kim, editors-in-chief: Edward Mansfield and Nita Rudra), World Scientific, January 2020
• The Motives of China’s Foreign Aid (with Marina Rudyak), Handbook of the International Political Economy of China (edited by Ka Zeng), Edward Elgar, March 2019
• China’s Economy Diplomacy and the Politics-Trade Nexus, Research Handbook on Economic Diplomacy (edited by Peter A.G. van Bergeijk and Selwyn Moons), Edward Elgar, June 2018

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Short articles and other publications

• China sent masks, gloves and gowns to many U.S. states. Here’s who benefited. (with Lennart C. Kaplan, Krisztina Kis-Katos, Sebastian S. Schmidt and Felix Turbanisch), Washington Post (Monkey Cage), January 2021
• Chinas Maskendiplomatie: Die Rolle politischer und wirtschaftlicher Beziehungen bei der Beschaffung medizinischer Güter in der Corona-Krise (with Lennart C. Kaplan, Krisztina Kis-Katos, Sebastian S. Schmidt, Felix Turbanisch and Feicheng Wang), Kiel Policy Brief 146, October 2020
• China’s mask diplomacy: Political and business ties facilitate access to critical medical goods during the coronavirus pandemic (with Lennart C. Kaplan, Krisztina Kis-Katos, Sebastian S. Schmidt, Felix Turbanisch and Feicheng Wang), Voxeu.org, September 2020
• Thoughts on the speed of international COVID-19 aid / Überlegungen zur Schnelligkeit der internationalen Covid-19-Hilfe (with Samuel Siewers), DEval’s corona blog for evidence-based development policy / DEval's Corona-Blog für eine evidenzbasierte Entwicklungspolitik, August 2020
• Chinas Wirtschaftsengagement in Lateinamerika: Was denkt eigentlich die Bevölkerung vor Ort? (with Vera Z. Eichenauer and Elena Quante), Ökonomenstimme, October 2019
• Political bias and the economic impact of Chinese aid (with Bradley Parks, Roland Hodler, Axel Dreher, Paul A. Raschky and Michael J. Tierney), Voxeu.org, October 2019
• Are democracies more likely to give development aid? The answer is surprising., AidData Blog, October 2019
• Wie beurteilen Sie die Rolle Chinas in Afrika?, Frag Leibniz, February 2019
• Belt and Road projects direct Chinese investment to all corners of the globe. What are the local impacts? (with Bradley Parks, Richard Bluhm, Axel Dreher, Austin M. Strange and Michael J. Tierney), Washington Post (Monkey Cage), September 2018
• Schaffen wir das? (with Axel Dreher, Valentin Lang and Sarah Langlotz), Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, September 2018 (also published as FAZ Essay Podcast)
• Russia’s foreign aid re-emerges (with Gerda Asmus and Angelika Müller), AidData Blog, April 2018
• China’s overseas development programs: busting “rogue donor” myths (with Austin M. Strange, Axel Dreher, Bradley Parks and Michael J. Tierney), GlobalDev Blog, February 2018
• Rogue agent or team player? Beijing’s motivations for aid provision (with Axel Dreher, Bradley Parks, Austin M. Strange and Michael J. Tierney), AidData Blog, February 2018
• Chinese aid is helping African economies, but not in the places that need it most (with Bradley Parks, Roland Hodler, Axel Dreher, Paul A. Raschky and Michael J. Tierney), Washington Post (Monkey Cage), October 2016
• Die Rolle der Entwicklungsminister: Erfahrung macht den Unterschied (with Katharina Richert), Ökonomenstimme, December 2015
• Many in the West fear Chinese ‘aid’ to Africa. They’re wrong. Here’s why. (with Austin M. Strange, Bradley Parks, Michael J. Tierney, Axel Dreher and Vijaya Ramachandran), Washington Post (Monkey Cage), October 2015
• Are African leaders misusing Chinese development finance? The price of country ownership (with Bradley Parks, Roland Hodler, Axel Dreher, Paul A. Raschky and Michael J. Tierney), IGC Blog, London School of Economics and University of Oxford, August 2015
• The European Union, Africa and New Donors Moving Towards New Partnerships (with Axel Dreher, Juan Carlos Vilanova Pardo and Alejandra Suarez Aller), project funded by the European Union (Framework Contract Commission 2011, Lot 1: Studies and Technical Assistance in All Sectors, Specific Contract N° 2014/337469) and implemented by iSACO (SAFEGE/COWI) in cooperation with SAFEGE and Tech4Dev, 2015
• Diving into the Details: What "Aid on Demand" Says and Doesn't Say about China in Africa (with Bradley Parks, Roland Hodler, Axel Dreher, Paul A. Raschky and Michael J. Tierney), The First Tranche AidData blog, November 2014
• Does the Home Country of Credit-Rating Agencies Affect Sovereign Ratings? (with Kai Gehring), EconoMonitor, January 2014
• Heimat-Bias bei Länderratings: Wie das Heimatland einer Ratingagentur deren Ratings beeinflussen kann (with Kai Gehring), Ökonomenstimme, January 2014
• China’s Development Finance to Africa: A Media-Based Approach to Data Collection (with Austin M. Strange, Bradley Parks, Michael J. Tierney, Axel Dreher and Vijaya Ramachandran), Center for Global Development Working Paper 323, April 2013
• India - The Needy Donor (with Krishna Chaitanya Vadlamannati), The First Tranche AidData blog, February 2013
• Rogue aid? On the importance of political institutions and natural resources for China’s allocation of foreign aid (with Axel Dreher), Voxeu.org, January 2012
• Unbegründete Furcht vor Chinas Entwicklungshilfe  (with Axel Dreher), Neue Züricher Zeitung, December 2011
• Was kostet ein Treffen mit dem Dalai Lama? (with Nils-Hendrik Klann), cege Report, March 2011
• Wie glaubwürdig sind Chinas Androhungen wirtschaftlicher Vergeltungsmaßnahmen? (with Nils-Hendrik Klann), Ökonomenstimme, December 2010
• How credible are China’s threats of economic retaliation in the context of bilateral disputes? (with Nils-Hendrik Klann), Voxeu.org, November 2010
• Peut-on mesurer la mondialisation? / Ist Globalisierung messbar? (with Axel Dreher), La Vie économique / Die Volkswirtschaft, January 2010
• Now more important than ever: A successful completion of the Doha round of multilateral trade liberalisation (with Axel Dreher, Stephan Klasen and Jan-Egbert Sturm), Voxeu.org, October 2008

Refereeing
Peer-reviewed journals
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics; American Journal of Political Science; American Political Science Review; Asian Education and Development Studies; British Journal of Politics and International Relations; Canadian Journal of Economics; China Economic Review; Contemporary Economic Policy; Contemporary South Asia; Defence and Peace Economics; Ecological Economics; Economics; Economics & Politics; Economic Notes; Economic Journal; Economics Letters; Emerging Markets Finance and Trade; European Economic Review; European Journal of Development Research; European Journal of Health Economics; European Journal of International Relations; European Journal of Political Economy; Foreign Policy Analysis; International Interactions; International Organization; International Studies Quarterly; Japanese Journal of Political Science; Journal of African Economies; Journal of Common Market Studies; Journal of Comparative Economics; Journal of Current Chinese Affairs; Journal of Development Economics; Journal of Development Studies; Journal of East Asian Studies; Journal of Human Rights; Journal of International Development; Journal of International Economics; Journal of International Trade & Economic Development; Journal of Money, Credit & Banking; Journal of Peace Research; Journal of Politics; Journal of Public Policy; Journal of the European Economic Association; Migration Studies; New England Journal of Political Science; Political Research Quarterly; Public Choice; Review of Development Economics; Review of Economics and Statistics; Review of International Organizations; Review of International Political Economy; Review of Middle East Economics and Finance; Review of World Economics; Scandinavian Journal of Economics; Scientific Data; SN Business & Economics; Third World Quarterly; Weather, Climate and Society; World Development; World Economy; World Politics

Third-party funding proposals
German Research Foundation (DFG); Research Grants Council of Hong Kong; Sino-German Center for Research Promotion

Conference submissions
Annual Meeting of the European Public Choice Society (Jerusalem 2019, Lucerne 2020; Lille 2021); Annual Conference of the Verein für Socialpolitik (Leipzig 2019); Annual Conference of the Verein für Socialpolitik Research Committee Development Economics (Hamburg 2020); Spring Meeting of Young Economists (Vienna 2014)

Other
Award for practice-oriented development research by Verein für Socialpolitik Research Committee Development Economics and KfW Development Bank (2020-2021)

Link to my Google Scholar website
Link to my Publons website
Link to my website at IfW Kiel

My ORCiD: 0000-0002-6309-5954