How Do People Evaluate Foreign Aid To ‘Nasty’ Regimes?

Abstract

Using a survey experiment, the authors assess public attitudes toward foreign aid to “nasty” recipient regimes—those that violate human rights, rig elections, and crack down on media. The study finds that while moral aversion to aiding such regimes is strong, this aversion diminishes significantly when the donor government is seen as engaging more with the regime, suggesting that instrumental considerations can override moral objections.,