Assist. Prof. Joris Mueller

Chinese Foreign Aid

In a recent article in VoxDev, Joris Mueller stated that China’s domestic political needs drive much of its foreign aid to other countries, but at the same time this aid has potentially large economic benefits for recipients. He concluded that “despite its flaws, and the fact that it is partly politically motivated, it would be a mistake to dismiss the Chinese aid model entirely. The growing evidence of a rare case of development finance having positive economic impacts on recipients deserves a closer look by policymakers and development economists alike.”

Mr. Mueller’s research focuses on political economy, development economics and economic history. In particular, he studies the forces of stability in authoritarian regimes and nascent democracies, drawing lessons from contemporary China, Africa and historical Europe

Joris Mueller is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at the National University of Singapore. He obtained an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a PhD in Economics from Northwestern University. Prior to his academic career, he was with the financial sector and the Swiss foreign service in Southeast Asia.