A theory and evidence test for strategic international aid

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has laid out a strategic framework to guide American foreign policy and development assistance in keeping with President Trump’s Inauguration Day foreign aid executive order: make America safer, stronger and more prosperous.

These objectives feel intuitive to us and many Americans. Yet they leave much wiggle room for deciding which policy areas to prioritize and which interventions to fund. 

If done right, America’s foreign assistance investments...