How does Japanese ODA really contribute to economic growth for ASEAN countries?

Japan has provided ODA funding for promoting economic development in ASEAN countries for a long time. This study aims to verify how Japan’s ODA contributes to economic growth of the ASEAN countries during the period of 2008-2020. Based on the Cobb-Douglas production function, we build a model to estimate the effects of the ODA funding on economic growth. The results show that the ODA exhibits a significantly positive relationship with economic growth of these countries. A one percent increase in the ODA inflow contributes to the economic growth by 0.226 percent. Capital and labor are important factors driving the economic growth while FDI has a negligible impact.