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Topic · Development

International Development and Aid

International Development and Aid is a research topic within Development. Science Explorer counts 39k research works in it since 1950. 28.2% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers explores the complex relationship between foreign aid, development policies, and economic growth. It delves into topics such as the effectiveness of aid, the impact of IMF programs, aid allocation strategies, governance issues, poverty reduction efforts, China's engagement in Africa, the role of NGOs, and the concept of conditionality in aid distribution.

  • Foreign Aid
  • Development Policies
  • IMF Programs
  • Aid Allocation
  • Governance
  • Poverty Reduction
  • China-Africa Relations
  • NGOs
  • Conditionality
  • Economic Growth
Research works
39k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
11k
per year above
Top-10% rate
28.2%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+12%
the tick is no change

Which countries lead International Development and Aid research?

By volume, the United States and the United Kingdom publish the most (1.1k and 578 works in 2022–2025).

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States 1.1k works
  2. 2 United Kingdom 578 works
  3. 3 China 537 works
  4. 4 Germany 486 works
  5. 5 Brazil 341 works
  6. 6 South Africa 329 works
  7. 7 India 278 works
  8. 8 Indonesia 203 works
  9. 9 Türkiye 194 works
  10. 10 Australia 192 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 26.0%United Kingdom: 13.6%China: 12.6%Germany: 11.4%6 others listed: 36.2%26%largest
United States1,105 · 26.0%United Kingdom578 · 13.6%China537 · 12.6%Germany486 · 11.4%6 others listed1,538 · 36.2%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead International Development and Aid research?

By volume in 2022–2025, University of Johannesburg publishes the most International Development and Aid research, followed by Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy and University of Oxford.

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 University of JohannesburgSouth Africa 75 works
  2. 2 Institute for Peace Research and Security PolicyGermany 74 works
  3. 3 University of OxfordUnited Kingdom 45 works
  4. 4 Australian National UniversityAustralia 40 works
  5. 5 University of PretoriaSouth Africa 38 works
  6. 6 London School of Economics and Political ScienceUnited Kingdom 37 works
  7. 7 King's College LondonUnited Kingdom 35 works
  8. 8 University of GhanaGhana 32 works
  9. 9 National University of SingaporeSingapore 28 works
  10. 10 Fudan UniversityChina 28 works

Who are the leading researchers in International Development and Aid?

The most-cited researchers publishing on International Development and Aid include Robert J. Barro, Joseph E. Stiglitz and Francis Fukuyama.

  1. 1 Robert J. Barro United States 7.9k citations
  2. 2 Joseph E. Stiglitz United States 7.4k citations
  3. 3 Francis Fukuyama United States 4.1k citations
  4. 4 William Diebold United States 3.8k citations
  5. 5 Jeffrey A. Frankel United States 3.3k citations
  6. 6 G. John Ikenberry United States 3k citations
  7. 7 Benjamin K. Sovacool Denmark 2.9k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

Where is International Development and Aid research done?

The largest centres of International Development and Aid research in 2022–2025 are London (United Kingdom), Beijing (China), Washington D.C. (United States) and Johannesburg (South Africa). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Johannesburg, Accra and Yaoundé.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 London United Kingdom 182 works
  2. 2 Beijing China 177 works
  3. 3 Washington D.C. United States 124 works
  4. 4 Johannesburg South Africa 123 works
  5. 5 Moscow Russia 122 works
  6. 6 Hamburg Germany 110 works
  7. 7 Shanghai China 86 works
  8. 8 Paris France 77 works
  9. 9 Tokyo Japan 76 works
  10. 10 New Delhi India 73 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. JohannesburgZA · 122.8 works14×
  2. AccraGH · 47.0 works12×
  3. YaoundéCM · 21.9 works12×
  4. RondeboschZA · 26.7 works11×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in International Development and Aid than the world average.

See International Development and Aid on the map

Where is the best place to study International Development and Aid?

Among universities, judged by research, University of Johannesburg, European University Institute and Leiden University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%60%mean 34.04%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →University of Johannesburg: 75, 20.2%European University Institute: 14, 46.9%Leiden University: 22, 34.6%Maastricht University: 14, 56.8%London School of Economics and Political Science: 37, 41.5%Australian National University: 40, 31.8%University of Sussex: 14, 51.1%University of Nairobi: 17, 23.7%University of Ghana: 32, 19.5%University of Pretoria: 38, 14.3%Maastricht UniversityEuropean University …Leiden UniversityUniversity of Johann…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1 University of JohannesburgSouth Africa 74.020.2%16.4×75 +229.6%
2 European University InstituteItaly 69.746.9%24.6×14 +182.0%
3 Leiden UniversityNetherlands 67.334.6%8.9×22 +242.3%
4 Maastricht UniversityNetherlands 66.156.8%5.7×14 +233.7%
5 London School of Economics and Political ScienceUnited Kingdom 64.241.5%21.2×37 -17.2%
6 Australian National UniversityAustralia 62.431.8%11.1×40 +12.0%
7 University of SussexUnited Kingdom 61.851.1%10.0×14 +14.0%
8 University of NairobiKenya 61.023.7%15.3×17 +328.2%
9 University of GhanaGhana 60.819.5%20.6×32 +102.5%
10 University of PretoriaSouth Africa 59.414.3%12.2×38 +112.5%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is International Development and Aid research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 12% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2024. The fastest-growing topics are International Development and Aid.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.