Foreign Aid for Development: Issues, Challenges, and the New Agenda

Foreign aid is one of the few topics in the development discourse with such an uninterrupted, yet volatile history in terms of interest and attention from academics, policymakers, and practitioners alike. Does aid work in promoting growth and reducing poverty in the developing world? Will a new 'big push' approach accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals or will another opportunity be missed? Can the lessons of almost half a century of aid giving be learnt? These are truly important questions in view of the emerging new landscape in foreign aid and recent developments related to the global financial crisis, which are expected to have far reaching implications for both donors and recipients engaged in this area. Against this shifting aid landscape, there is a pressing need to evaluate progress to date and shed new light on emerging issues and agendas. This volume brings together leading aid experts to review the progress achieved so far, identify the challenges ahead, and discuss the emerging policy agenda in foreign aid. A central conclusion of this important and timely volume is that, since development aid remains crucial for many developing countries, a huge effort is needed from both donors and aid recipients to overcome the inefficiencies and make aid work better for poor people. After all, as global citizens, we have a moral obligation to do the best we can to lift people out of poverty in the developing world. The findings of this book will be of considerable interest to professionals and policymakers engaged in policy reforms in foreign aid, and provide an essential one-stop reference for students of development, international finance, and economics. Contributors to this volume - George Mavrotas, Global Development Network Finn Tarp, University of Copenhagen Gustav Ranis, Yale University Machiko Nissanke, SOAS, University of London Graham Brown, University of Bath Frances Stewart, Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security, and Ethnicity, University of Oxford Arnim Langer, Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security, and Ethnicity, University of Oxford Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, the New School Stephen Browne, International Trade Centre, Geneva Ghassan Dibeh, Lebanese American University in Byblos Arjan de Haan, Institute for Social Studies, The Hague Max Everest-Phillips, UK Department for International Development Nathalie Holvoet, University of Antwerp Robrecht Renard, University of Antwerp Michael Hubbard, University of Birmingham Eva Jespersen, UNICEF Julia Benn, OECD Patrick Guillaumont, CERDI, Universite d'Auvergne Sylviane Guillaumont Jeanneney, CERDI, Universite d'Auvergne Richard Auty, Lancaster University