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What is effective aid? How would donors allocate it?

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  • Charles Kenny

Abstract

There are significant weaknesses in some of the traditional justifications for assuming that aid will foster development. This paper looks at what the cross-national aid effectiveness literature suggests about effective aid, first in terms of promoting income growth and then for promoting other goals. This review forms the basis for a discussion of recommendations to improve aid effectiveness and a discussion of effective aid allocation. Given the multiple potential objectives for aid, there is no one right answer. However, it appears that there are a number of reforms to aid practices and distribution that might help to deliver a more significant return to aid resources. Il y a d'importantes faiblesses dans la pensee traditionnelle qui pretend que l'aide stimulera le developpement. Cet article etudie ce que dit la litterature sur l'efficacite de l'aide internationale a ce sujet, d'abord vis-a-vis de la croissance du revenu, puis au regard de ses autres objectifs. Ce bilan constitue une base pour des recommandations visant a ameliorer l'efficacite de l'aide et pour une discussion sur l'efficacite de l'attribution de l'aide. Etant donne les determinants multiples de l'allocation de l'aide, il n'y a pas une seule bonne reponse. Cependant, un certain nombre de reformes concernant les pratiques et la distribution de l'aide pourrait contribuer a ameliorer le rendement de l'aide.

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  • Charles Kenny, 2008. "What is effective aid? How would donors allocate it?," The European Journal of Development Research, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 20(2), pages 330-346.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:eurjdr:v:20:y:2008:i:2:p:330-346
    DOI: 10.1080/09578810802078704
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    Cited by:

    1. Six, Clemens, 2008. "Was bedeutet Wirksamkeit von Entwicklung? Ein begriffsorientiertes Diskussionspapier," Working Papers 21, Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE).
    2. Pedrosa-Garcia, Jose Antonio, 2017. "Trends and Features of Research on Foreign Aid: A Literature Review," MPRA Paper 82134, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. José Alves & Cláudia Couto, 2018. "The Impact of Foreign Aid on Aggregate Welfare Measures: A Panel Data Analysis," Working Papers REM 2018/54, ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, REM, Universidade de Lisboa.
    4. Joseph Wright, 2009. "How Foreign Aid Can Foster Democratization in Authoritarian Regimes," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(3), pages 552-571, July.
    5. Tierney, Michael J. & Nielson, Daniel L. & Hawkins, Darren G. & Roberts, J. Timmons & Findley, Michael G. & Powers, Ryan M. & Parks, Bradley & Wilson, Sven E. & Hicks, Robert L., 2011. "More Dollars than Sense: Refining Our Knowledge of Development Finance Using AidData," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(11), pages 1891-1906.
    6. Charles Kenny, William Savedoff, 2013. "Can Results-Based Payments Reduce Corruption?-Working Paper 345," Working Papers 345, Center for Global Development.
    7. Mario Biggeri & Federico Ciani & Andrea Ferrannini, 2017. "Aid Effectiveness and Multilevel Governance: The Case of a Value Chain Development Project in Rural Ethiopia," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 29(4), pages 843-865, August.
    8. Bah, El-hadj M. & Ward, Jeremy, 2011. "Effectiveness of foreign aid in Small Island Developing States," MPRA Paper 32062, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Sumner, Andy, 2012. "Where Do The Poor Live?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 865-877.
    10. M. Rodwan Abouharb & Erick Duchesne, 2019. "Economic Development and the World Bank," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(5), pages 1-30, May.
    11. Maria S. Basílio, 2014. "The Determinants of Multilateral Development Banks’ Participation in Infrastructure Projects," Journal of Infrastructure Development, India Development Foundation, vol. 6(2), pages 83-110, December.
    12. Malte Toetzke & Nicolas Banholzer & Stefan Feuerriegel, 2022. "Monitoring global development aid with machine learning," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 5(6), pages 533-541, June.

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