International Politics and the Subnational Allocation of World Bank Development Projects.

This article investigates whether temporary membership on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) influences the subnational allocation of World Bank aid within recipient countries, focusing particularly on aid directed to leaders' birth regions in 122 non-OECD countries from 1995 to 2014. While prior research shows that UNSC membership correlates with an increase in the total number of World Bank projects a country receives, this study finds little evidence that such status affects the geographic distribution of aid within countries or leads to political favoritism toward leaders' birth regions. The findings suggest that, unlike cross-national aid allocation, internal World Bank aid distribution does not systematically respond to international political pressures associated with UNSC membership. This has implications for understanding the political dynamics of aid effectiveness and highlights the need for further research on other international factors influencing subnational aid targeting.