Book review: Foreign Aid in South Asia: The Emerging Scenario

The publication Foreign Aid in South Asia: The Emerging Scenario is a collection of case studies examining the role that foreign aid (except military aid) has played in the economic and social development of eight countries in South Asia. The main objective of the book is to provide policies to be applied for better aid utilization in the future in that subregion. The book is superbly edited by one of the most renowned economists in South Asia, Saman Kelegama of Sri Lanka. According to Kelegama, South Asia has been receiving development aid (bilateral and multilateral) since the 1950s from various donors, particularly in the West, and through organizations such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank in the form of grants and loans, but the impact of the aid has not been assessed in order to determine what has worked and what has not. In the book, it is pointed out that most countries in South Asia view foreign aid as a long-term opportunity to cover their recurrent expenditures. Therefore, this book is a "must read" for policymakers, academic scholars, aid recipients and donors in the South Asian subregion. It is also an excellent asset for students who wish to know specifically about the political economy of foreign aid in the subregion.