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DEVELOPMENT AID
Homi Kharas
WOLFENSOHN CENTER FOR DEVELOPMENT
WORKING PAPER 1 | NOVEMBER 2007
The Brookings Global Economy and Development
working paper series also includes the following titles:
Wolfensohn Center for Development Working Papers
Middle East Youth Initiative Working Papers
Global Health Financing Initiative Working Papers
Learn more at www.brookings.edu/global
Authors Note:
Excellent research assistance was provided by Joshua Hermias and Stephanie Brewer.
Homi Kharas is a Visiting Fellow at the Wolfensohn
Center for Development at Brookings.
CONTENTS
Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
A Framework for Aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Aid trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Denitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Net aid owsthe aggregates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Net aid transfers into country programmable aid (CPA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Destination of aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Net aid owsmultilateral agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Non-DAC aid donors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Private aid donors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Aid Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Changes in aid architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Key Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Information sharing, coordination and planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Results, effectiveness, and allocation rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Scaling up, learning and innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
A new dialogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Endnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
TRENDS AND ISSUES IN DEVELOPMENT AID 1
TRENDS AND ISSUES IN
DEVELOPMENT AID
Homi Kharas
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
T
his note provides background data and analysis
on what has been happening to aid flows and
the resulting change in aid architecture. It is based on
data taken from the OECD/DAC and on a review of the
literature.
Key numbers on development
assistance trends
Net ofcial development assistance (ODA) from the
22 DAC member countries has increased to over
$100 billion over the last two years, with a prom-
ise of increases of 30 percent over the next three
years.
Most ODA is for special purpose needs which do
not translate into funds available for development
projects and programs. Developing country govern-
ments are only receiving about $38 billion in net
country programmable aid (CPA).
Sub-Saharan Africa is especially hard hit by this
wedge between ODA and CPA. It only received $12.1
billion in CPA in 2005, showing almost no increase
over the preceding two decades.
Non-DAC bilateral assistance (NDBA) is growing
rapidly and amounts to more than $8 billion in ODA
and $5 billion annually in CPA.
Private aid (PrA) from DAC member countries might
already contribute between $58-68 billion per year,
although aggregate data is sketchy.