Does It Pay for US-based NGOs to Go to War? Empirical Evidence for Afghanistan and Iraq

Authors

• Kim
• Y.
• Nunnenkamp
• P.

Publication Date

DOI

10.1111/dech.12160

JEL Classification

Key Words

Apart from altruistic reasons, NGOs may engage in developing countries under conditions of conflict and war in order to secure funding and survive in the ‘market’ of humanitarian relief and development assistance. Applying difference-in-differences approaches, we analyze empirically whether the presence of US-based NGOs in Afghanistan and Iraq improved their chances of external funding. While there are some indications that NGOs being active in Afghanistan had better access to official funding, we do not find statistically compelling evidence that it pays for NGOs to engage where the United States intervenes militarily.