Public Perceptions on the ODA Effectiveness by Different Motivations and Their Associations with the Public Support for ODA in the Context of COVID-19

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the association between public perceptions on the ODA effectiveness by four different motivations -realism represented by economic and political gains, communitarianism, humanitarianism- and the public support for ODA. The support for ODA was defined as (1) the public perception of the need for increase in ODA after COVID-19 and (2) the support for COVID-19 vaccine donation. To that end, the most recent ODA Public Perception Survey administered by the Office for Government Policy Coordination in 2021 was used. With this dataset, Instrumental Variable Probit Regression analysis was performed and the predicted probabilities were presented for each motivation. The results showed that ODA effectiveness for humanitarianism had the greatest effect as a factor affecting (1) the public perception of the need for increase in ODA after COVID-19 and (2) the support for COVID-19 vaccine donation. This implies that providing the evidence on the effectiveness for ODA driven by humanitarianism can be a strong force for improving public support for ODA. This study explored ODA that accounts for considerable weight in global health and health equity for all, and ultimately, investigated the possibilities for transition to ODA driven by communitariansim and humanitarianism.