Mutual Gain or Resource Drain? Attitudes toward International Financial Assistance During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic

Despite the need for international cooperation on COVID-19, the United States displayed reluctance to contribute to a global response. To shed light on the domestic politics that may underlie this foreign policy, we investigate how the U.S. public viewed financial assistance to international organizations (IO)s and developing countries during the early stages of the pandemic. On one hand, the pandemic may illustrate the importance of cooperation; on the other hand, voters may be reluctant to engage internationally during a national crisis. In a survey fielded to 2,500 Americans in early April 2020, we find that personal exposure to the effects of COVID-19 is associated with increased support for IOs but decreased support for foreign aid. We suggest that Americans, especially those most affected by COVID-19, perceive benefits to supporting IOs but not to assisting developing countries. Partisanship moderates this relationship: although Republicans are less likely to support both forms of economic engagement, the positive relationship between exposure and support for IOs is actually stronger for Republicans. These findings are consistent with the notion that Americans, and especially Republicans, support international engagement when they feel it benefits them.