Advanced Search
MyIDEAS: Login

What Have IMF Programs With Low-Income Countries Assumed About Aid Flows?

Contents:

Author Info

  • David Goldsbrough

    ()

  • Ben Elberger
Registered author(s):

    Abstract

    This paper examines the nature of aid projections in IMF programs with low-income countries. On average, IMF projections of net aid increased sharply in the first year of programs but tapered off in subsequent years. Projections were also significantly more optimistic in countries with low initial levels of aid but differed little across regions. Most notably, projections of net aid to countries in Sub-Saharan Africa following the Gleneagles Summit are significantly more pessimistic than the path implied by commitments to double aid to Africa by 2010. This pattern is strong throughout the group with only two Sub-Saharan African countries showing increases in net aid consistent with the Gleneagles commitments. We argue that much greater clarity is needed about the role of the IMF in the aid architecture. In addition to projecting likely aid flows based on detailed discussions with donors, the IMF should utilize sector-level inputs to assess the macroeconomic effects of a significant scaling-up of aid in programs with low-income countries. Such a scenario would help the international community and the country itself judge whether there are any macroeconomic constraints to absorbing more aid. The obvious benchmark to use for aid levels in such a scenario would be what donors have committed to globally--i.e. a doubling of aid in the case of African countries. Finally, we conclude that the IMF should be more transparent about what its collective program projections imply for the expected path of global aid flows.

    Download Info

    If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
    File URL: http://www.cgdev.org/content/publications/detail/13447
    Download Restriction: no

    Bibliographic Info

    Paper provided by Center for Global Development in its series Working Papers with number 116.

    as in new window
    Length: 18 pages
    Date of creation: Apr 2007
    Date of revision:
    Handle: RePEc:cgd:wpaper:116

    Contact details of provider:
    Web page: http://www.cgdev.org

    Related research

    Keywords: International Monetary Fund; foreign aid; ODA; projections; Gleneagles Summit; macroeconomic frameworks; macroeconomic programs; Africa;

    Find related papers by JEL classification:

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    References

    No references listed on IDEAS
    You can help add them by filling out this form.

    Citations

    Lists

    This item is not listed on Wikipedia, on a reading list or among the top items on IDEAS.

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cgd:wpaper:116

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (David Roodman).

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.

    If the full references list an item that is present in RePEc, but the system did not link to it, you can help with this form.

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.