Factors affecting official development assistance distribution. A panel investigation

The capacity to generate energy from renewable sources has given rise to a flourishing research stream, especially in reference to developing countries, which are frequently the most exposed to the effects of climate change, but have limited resources for adaptation and/or mitigation policies. They therefore often benefit from monetary funds from developed countries and/or international organizations, which are qualified as Official Development Assistance (ODA). This paper assesses whether the generation of a greater share of renewable energy by a country increases the ODA allocated for energy and the environment by donor countries, and how vulnerability and social development affect the distribution of funds. A panel of 85 countries in the time span 1995–2015 was analysed. The results show that the ODA received by developing countries tends to be directly linked to their vulnerability but inversely linked to their social development. The relevance of these funds for the development of developing countries and the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions also emerges. Efforts are therefore needed to provide better assistance to beneficiary countries in order to optimize the advantages resulting from the use of the resources received, starting from improving the managerial capacities of the beneficiaries to create value from these funds.