AidData

Billions of people and goods travel every year through scanners at customs checkpoints. Where has China provided this scanner equipment—and what are the security implications?

Skip to Content Date Published Jul 3, 2026 Authors Tetsekela Anyiam-Osigwe, Simone Dietrich, Alexandra Zeitz Publisher Citation Anyiam-Osigwe, T., Dietrich, S., Schneider, S., & A. Zeitz. Preferred Partners? Co-financing with the African Development Bank and the Legitimation of Foreign Assistance. AidData Working Paper #142. Williamsburg, VA. AidData at William & Mary. Abstract Foreign donors often co-finance development projects with local actors.

Skip to Content Date Published Jul 2, 2026 Authors Burcu Bayram, Bernhard Reinsberg, Sebastian Schneider, Haley Swedlund Publisher Citation Bayram, B., Reinsberg, B., Schneider, S., & H. Swedlund. Filling the Void: How Strategic Information Shapes Europeans’ Willingness to Offset Foreign Aid Cuts. AidData Working Paper #141. Williamsburg, VA. AidData at William & Mary.

Editor's note: This article was originally published by William & Mary Alumni Magazine at the following link: https://magazine.wm.edu/online-exclusives/2026/aiddata-geofield-convening.php What can satellite imagery tell us about the best way to conserve water in Niger or how much fertilizer farmers should apply in India?

When Kenya announced in October 2025 that it had converted its Standard Gauge Railway debts to China Eximbank from U.S. dollars (USD) into Chinese renminbi (RMB), the move was widely framed as a breakthrough for RMB internationalization and a clever way to reduce borrowing costs. Early reporting suggested the switch could save Kenya roughly $215 million a year due to interest rate reductions associated with RMB. But this narrative does not tell the full story.

Date Published Jun 23, 2026 Authors Sailor Miao, Oshin Pandey Publisher Citation Miao, S., & Pandey, O. (2026). Kenya’s USD-to-RMB Debt Conversion Was Really a Restructuring: Implications for Ethiopia and Other Countries. Policy note. AidData at William & Mary.

Date Published Jun 23, 2026 Authors Shuyuan Shen, Shuyan Huang Publisher Citation Shen, S. and Huang, S. (2026). Authoritarian Propaganda and Domestic Support for Foreign Aid: Evidence from China. AidData Working Paper #140. Williamsburg, VA: AidData at William & Mary. Abstract Foreign aid is politically vulnerable because donor publics often view overseas spending as competing with domestic needs.

Date Published Jun 8, 2026 Authors Ana Horigoshi, Divya Mathew, Samantha Custer, and Bentje Boer Publisher Citation Horigoshi, A., Mathew, D., Custer, S. and Boer, B. 2026. Thematic Evaluation of UK Influence on Development Leaders, 2014-2024. Evaluation Report. AidData at William & Mary. Abstract This report evaluates how leaders in the Global South perceive the United Kingdom’s performance as a development partner over the last decade (2014-2024).

This dataset captures 33,580 projects and activities across 217 low-, middle-, and high-income countries supported by grants and loans from official sector institutions in China worth nearly $2.2 trillion over a 24-year period (2000-2023).

Date Published May 28, 2026 Authors JulieAnn Sickell, Brooke Escobar, and Oshin Pandey Publisher Citation Sickell, J., Pandey, O., and Escobar, B. (2026). Laos: Chinese Development Finance, 2000-2023. Williamsburg, VA: AidData at William & Mary. Abstract This country profile provides a detailed overview of the scale, scope, and composition of Chinese state-directed financing in Laos from 2000 to 2023.