Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Foreign Aid Deservingness Decisions

This study presents a conceptual model that describes how aid deservingness decisions are made. The model contains the three concepts of need, similarity, and estimated effectiveness. The model also includes an interaction component involving need and similarity. Two variables were used to operationalize each of the three concepts. A total of 136 subjects from the Netherlands, Japan, and the United States were asked to rate 96 stimulus countries (constructed by factorially varying the levels of the six variables) on their deservingness for foreign aid. Results revealed that foreign aid deservingness judgments in all three cultures are based on perceived need, similarity, effectiveness, and a multiplicative combination of recipient need and similarity. There was also evidence that egoistic as well as altruistic motivations enter into aid decisions in all three cultures. Overall, the Dutch were more responsive to recipient need information and less influenced by potential benefits to their own nation than were either the Japanese or American subjects. Also found were close parallels in judgments made by Japanese and American subjects