Scaling up aid
Does aid work - for the MDGs?
Is aid an effective way of achieving the MDGs?
Authors:
D. Ehrenpreis (ed)
Publisher:
International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth, 2007
In 2005, the G8 leaders promised to double aid to Africa and the UN World Summit to increase total official development assistance (ODA) by around $ 50 bn. But are such increases in aid really what is needed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals? In this issue of Poverty in Focus, a collection of 12 essays discuss various features of the current international aid system critically and constructively, with references to recent research literature on aid effectiveness and sharing of important and policy-relevant results.
The 12 essays offer a range of different perspectives on the current aid system. While some authors emphasise the achievements of ODA over the last few decades, others point to the persistence of massive poverty or advocating a shift in focus to other policy options. In gathering together these perspectives, the issue aims to contribute to the ongoing analytical and policy debate on aid effectiveness and thus to the changes in aid modalities and procedures that are most likely to enhance advancement towards the MDGs.
Essays in the collection include the following:
- Roger C. Riddell summarises his new book explaining why the current aid system is no longer fit for purpose and needs a radical overhaul
- Stephen Browne criticises the traditional volume targeting of aid and at its supply-driven mode, proposing a shift of focus to human development at country level
- Edward Anderson discusses how different principles for allocating aid across countries affect global MDG achievement, involving a trade-off between equity and effective use of aid
- David Goldsbrough and Ben Elberger find that IMF conditionality has unduly constrained aid spending in poor countries in favour of using aid for reducing debt rather than poverty.
- Pierre Jacquet analyses the aid grants vs. loans issue in the light of the resolution of the debt crisis of poor countries, supporting the use of modernised models of ODA loans.
