2025/01/02 by Chang Meng, Noorulhaq Ghafoori, Jamshid Yolchi · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Corruption and Economic Development #Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance #Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East
paper · doi:10.1080/09584935.2025.2451882
openalex publication_date 2025/01/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
This research investigates the dual impact of foreign intervention on economic growth and executive corruption in Afghanistan, spanning the years 1973 to 2022. We argue that although foreign intervention facilitated economic growth, it simultaneously encouraged executive corruption by supporting ethno-nationalist state leaders, warlords, and kleptocratic political elites and installing puppet, undemocratic, and extractive regimes. Employing external military assistance and per capita income as indicators of intervention and growth, our findings indicate that a one-unit increase in military supporters corresponded with a 2.08% rise in per capita income and a 2.26% increase in executive corruption, implying that the detrimental effects of corruption surpassed the economic benefits of foreign aid in Afghanistan. Furthermore, there was a 0.65% increase in per capita income and a 0.36% increase in corruption for every unit increase in the electoral democracy index, suggesting that elites manipulate democratic processes for their own benefit. Additionally, an increase in rebellion groups or executive corruption was associated with a 0.26% and 0.82% decrease in per capita income, respectively. This analysis underscores the complex relationship between foreign intervention, governance failures, and economic outcomes, highlighting the inefficiencies and corruptive consequences of foreign aid in Afghanistan’s development trajectory.