Paying It Forward: Generalized Reciprocity in Mass Opinion on Foreign Aid

Abstract Does providing American vaccines overseas improve views of the United States? Do beneficiaries of donated shots change their opinions on foreign aid? Can the example of the United States providing aid lead to higher support for international assistance in other nations? Utilizing original panel data from a two-wave survey fielded in South Korea in 2021 and 2022, this paper finds no evidence that American shots, whether donated or purchased, lead to more positive views of the United States. However, we document a “pay it forward effect,” where recipients of donated COVID-19 vaccines from the United States were more likely to pass on the generosity by supporting Korean vaccine aid to other countries in need. Information that the United States was supplying assistance to developing countries also made it more likely that vaccinated South Koreans would support their government donating vaccines abroad. This study provides evidence of second-order effects of vaccine aid that can benefit American interests by facilitating the timely distribution of vaccines across the globe, even when it does not improve the donor’s image. The results highlight the role foreign aid can play in furthering international cooperation and call for broader criteria when evaluating its effect.