Replication Data for: Can Foreign Aid Improve the Donor Country’s Image among a Third-party Country’s Public? The Case of a World Heritage Site Restoration Project

This study explores whether and under what conditions foreign aid can help improve the donor country’s image in countries that did not receive aid. We identified a world heritage site restoration project that is visible and localized, has no political attachments, and deals with the global public good as the type of foreign aid most likely to generate this positive effect. In light of the literature suggesting that tensions with the target country undermine the effectiveness of public diplomacy, we expect the positive effect will be more pronounced in non-recipient countries with which the donor country has a more amicable relationship. To empirically investigate our argument, we conduct a survey experiment in Australia, which is a developed non-aid-receiving country. We provide information to the Australian public about an aid project to restore the Angkor Monument in Cambodia conducted either by China or South Korea. We find that information on Korea’s aid to Cambodia improves the image of Korea and the willingness to cooperate with the Korean government among Australians. No such effect, however, is observed for similar aid provided by China, whose relations with Australia have been strained in multiple domains. Our findings have policy implications for donor countries seeking to utilize the soft power element of foreign aid as a public diplomacy tool.