The Aid for Trade initiative was launched by the WTO in 2005 to help developing countries build their supply‐side capacity and trade‐related infrastructure to improve their capacity in the global market. This study investigates the impacts of both the tangible and intangible elements of this initiative on the economic, social and political globalisation of recipient countries. Intangible elements of Aid for Trade (aid for trade policy and regulation) may be considered as the software of Aid for Trade, while tangible elements (aid for economic infrastructure and building productive capacity) are the hardware. Countries that receive Aid for Trade can use both types of elements to succeed in globalisation. This research hypothesises that the tangible elements of Aid for Trade have a singular effect on the overall level of globalisation since they are expected to only increase the level of economic globalisation. Moreover, we expect that the intangible elements of Aid for Trade will have multiple effects on the overall level of globalisation as they have an impact on not only economic aspects but also social and political aspects of it. Using the dataset of Aid for Trade from 2002 to 2015, we find that the intangible elements of Aid for Trade have increased the recipients' level of overall globalisation.

COVID-19 has brought an unprecedented global economic burden. The widely held view is that, during times of economic crisis, there are reduced flows of foreign aid due to budgetary constraints. Although some countries’ actions seem aligned with this perspective, others, including South Korea, have acted counter-intuitively. South Korea has implemented health-related diplomacy, initiating the Agenda for Building Resilience against COVID-19 through the Development Cooperation (ABC) program. This program provides countries with COVID-19 diagnosis kits, personal protective equipment, such as masks, and health-related capacity for building and development projects. We attempt to understand the behavior of donors in the crisis context and, thus, examine South Korea as a representative case. Using South Korean health-related diplomacy as our case study, we show that South Korea has considered both its interests and recipients’ needs. Furthermore, a quantitative study with newly constructed data from the ABC program reveals that South Korea provides higher amounts of Official Development Assistance (ODA) via its ABC program to recipients with whom it enjoys close economic ties and with whom it has given higher amounts of ODA. The latter finding suggests a path-dependent act in foreign aid allocation.

In recent decades, the number of refugees in protracted stateless situations has steadily risen. These vulnerable individuals face serious economic and political issues in their host communities. We assessed the common market project in Tanzania’s Nyarugusu refugee camp, examining its impact on refugees’ self-reliance and its role in determining peaceful coexistence between refugees and host communities. Through field research and empirical analysis of original survey data gathered from 473 refugee households and 505 host community households, we demonstrate that use of the common market has increased the incomes of both refugees and host communities. Furthermore, interactions within the common market have improved the relationship between refugees and host communities, bringing deeper trust between them. This study supports the market-based approach targeting refugees and host communities near refugee camps as an alternative to the conventional humanitarian aid methods. This approach could effectively ameliorate prolonged refugee crises around the world, where people suffer from decreasing resources and increasing anti-refugee sentiments.

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