CAN REPRESSIVE REGIMES BE MODERATED THROUGH FOREIGN-AID

In what circumstances should foreign aid be given to less developed co untries with repressive rulers? Repressive rulers are assumed to contr ol the national income and to trade it against the probability of stay ing in office which is assumed in turn to depend positively on popular wealth and repression. A foreign donor aware of this process of optim ization will pursue his international objectives by attaching conditio ns to his aid that alter the relative price of repression and popular wealth in the calculations of the tyrant. The effectiveness of direct and in-kind aid and the desirability of a ''carrot an stick'' aid poli cy depend on the direct and the interactive effects that popular wealt h, repression, and the parameters of economic growth exert on the regi me's stability and its level of income.