Title: Whose poverty really matters when deciding aid volumes?

Authors: Alessandro De Matteis

Addresses: School of International Development, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK

Abstract: This study assesses the relevance of poverty in the determination of aid volumes. In particular, it investigates whether donors' decisions about aid volumes are more reactive to changes in domestic poverty than to those in the poverty of prospective aid recipients. This is particularly relevant at times of economic crisis, which may seriously affect the proportion of donors' budgets that is devoted to foreign assistance. The present study is based on the experience of a sample of members of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECDDAC). It finds that faster and greater changes in the volume of foreign aid occurred in response to changes in poverty in the donor countries rather than in potential recipient countries. Furthermore, donors' attitude towards poverty in low-income countries differs from the one towards poverty in middle-income countries.

Keywords: foreign aid; aid recipient poverty; aid effort; donor decision making; aid volumes; domestic poverty; economic crisis; donor attitudes; low-income countries; middle-income countries.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPP.2016.075215

International Journal of Public Policy, 2016 Vol.12 No.1/2, pp.28 - 53

Received: 05 Sep 2014
Accepted: 22 Apr 2015
Published online: 08 Mar 2016 *

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