Development economist warns of consequences when research funding shrinks

A review of the research network SweDev shows that the Swedish Research Council, Sweden's largest government research funder,'s contribution to international development research has decreased from SEK 210 million in 2022 to SEK 66 million in 2024. 

Ann-Sofie Isaksson, development economist at the Institute for Futures Studies (IFFS) and the University of Gothenburg, sees a risk that reduced support will prevent young researchers from entering the field and weaken Swedish development research in the long term. 

- I think that's a great shame because we have been quite strong in this area, she says. 

At the same time, there is a change in how the purpose of aid is formulated, both internationally and in Sweden. In December 2023 the government presented the reform agenda for Swedish development assistance,The focus is, among other things, on efficiency and Swedish interests.  

"When I started studying Chinese aid, I experienced that they [China] stood out. They explicitly said that aid should be a win-win situation," she says. 

Similar tones are now visible in Sweden's reform agenda. Aid is highlighted as a way to strengthen Sweden's image in strategically important countries. 

Increased aid effectiveness in aid requires evidence-based knowledge

Isaksson finds it contradictory that support for research is decreasing at the same time as the government is raising the efficiency of aid. Through development research and analysis of the concrete effects of aid efforts, researchers can provide guidance to decision-makers.  

Isaksson points out that certain sectors and challenges are more relevant to study in low-income countries than in Western contexts, such as agricultural self-sufficiency, combating HIV and corruption. It is also not obvious that results from studies in high-income countries can be transferred to low-income countries.  

– In principle, development economics is economics applied to low-income countries. The ultimate question is: why are some countries rich and others poor? And why do some countries remain poor and not catch up? she explains. 

The breadth of the field is reflected in Isaksson's own research, which spans topics such as the impact of Chinese aid on institutional trust, the impact of Christian missionary churches on female genital mutilation in 14 countries in Africa, and how the rapid spread of information and communication technology affects educational outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa. 

One of her latest projects investigates which interventions have had the greatest impact on child malnutrition in Malawi.  

“The first two years of life are a critical period for chronic malnutrition, known as stunting. It leads to permanent effects even if you have better conditions later in life,” she says. 

By linking geographic data from over 700 aid projects in Malawi to health data from children in the same areas, the research team was able to examine the effect of different types of interventions.  

“It seems that general interventions, where households themselves are given improved financial conditions to control their own situation, are effective in reducing malnutrition among children,” she explains. 

The interventions that increase household income thus showed greater positive effects compared to, for example, targeted interventions that aim to directly improve the health of children and mothers.  

Isaksson also highlights that multilateral projects, which are often larger in scope, show extra positive results. Multilateral aid is aid that goes through international organizations, while bilateral aid is support that goes directly from one country to actors in another. About 40 percent of Sida goes through multilateral collaborations – that is, the money goes to international organizations which in turn distribute it between countries and regions. 

Research can provide clear indications of which aid initiatives have the greatest impact. At the same time, Ann-Sofie highlights that it is problematic if projects are judged because they do not show large-scale effects. 

– Building a school in a village affects those who attend that particular school. Then it can be difficult to see the effects on the country as a whole. Then it feels a bit difficult if you say “no, these aid projects were not effective because we cannot see effects at the national level”, she emphasizes. 

Sweden's aid authority Sida means that it is often easier to measure results of an individual project, but that effects on a larger scale can be difficult to evaluate. There are so many factors, in addition to aid efforts, that can influence development at a regional or national level. 

In an exchange of views between the liberal think tank Timbro and the aid organization Forum Civ, the former said that aid “in principle never leads to long-term development”. Timbro believes that the work to combat poverty should focus on humanitarian efforts and measures to strengthen free trade. While Forum Civ points out how, for example, the proportion of people living in poverty in parts of Cambodia has been halved after 30 years of long-term development support to partners in the country.  

This very fact, that aid research is often subject to interpretation, also makes the work complex, according to Ann-Sofie.  

– I think it feels a bit difficult when you sit and work on these things that your conclusions can be angled a little as the readers want.

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