 Foreign-assisted infrastructure and local employment: Evidence from China's aid to AfricaJiafu An, Shiqi Guo and Haicheng Jiang Journal of Comparative Economics, 2025, vol. 53, issue 1, 118-138 Abstract: This study examines the impact of Chinese infrastructure aid on local employment across ten African countries, surveying over 500,000 individuals from 2000 to 2014. Utilizing variations in proximity to aid projects and the timing of project construction relative to local surveys reveals that Chinese aid increases local employment by two percentage points in areas near project sites compared to those awaiting project commencement, contrasting with regions without such aid. Employment rises with the onset of construction, primarily benefiting individuals with lower educational attainment, and persists post-completion, sustained by the migration and employment of skilled workers. Various infrastructure projects temporarily boost local employment, with long-term benefits particularly pronounced for projects in education, healthcare, and water and power utilities. Cross-sectoral and spatial spillover effects are also identified, with results remaining robust after accounting for additional local development factors. Keywords: Africa; Aid projects; China; Education; Employment; Foreign aid; Infrastructure; Labor; Productivity; Migration (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:53:y:2025:i:1:p:118-138 DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2024.11.003 Access Statistics for this article Journal of Comparative Economics is currently edited by D. Berkowitz and G. Roland More articles in Journal of Comparative Economics from Elsevier |
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