The Impact of Foreign Aid on Economic Growth in Palestine: An Empirical Evidence

Abstract

This study examines the Impact of Foreign Aid on Economic Growth in Palestine by considering time series data of the last twenty years from (2000-2019). Foreign Aid's Impact on the Palestinian Economy explored with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the dependent variable against few selected independent variables such as Foreign Aid, Remittance, Investment, Labour Force and Lagged (GDP). This study used the Partial Adjustment Model to analyze the Impact of Foreign Aid on Economic Growth in Palestine and also applied the (Chow Test) to examine whether there was a Structural Breakthrough in the Palestinian Economy. The results indicate that Foreign Aid has a positive relationship with (GDP). However, the relationship is not significant since the higher volume of Foreign Aid used in Humanitarian and Social Welfare rather than Production Activities in the real sectors. (Chow Test) shows that the relationship between Foreign Aid (GDP) has not witnessed a Structural Breakthrough in the Palestinian Economy over the past twenty years. In light of these empirical results, we suggest that Government Policy-Makers and Decision-Makers allocate this Foreign Aid to Productive Sectors and Human Capital formation (HC) activities with a special focus on capital expenditures to achieve a high rate of the country's Economic Growth and Development and to meet the periodic plan and Long-Term Development goals.