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Foreign Aid after the Cold War

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  • Keith Griffin

Abstract

This paper argues that foreign aid programmes originated as part of the ideological confrontation known as the Cold War and that the motives behind aid were always more political than economic. It is further argued that the economic justifications for foreign aid — filling ‘gaps’ in capital, technology and skills—are suspect and that the economic benefits in terms of long‐term development are at best negligible. Turning to the future, foreign aid programmes are bound to change to reflect the new realities of global international relations. Nine specific predictions are made about the future size and composition of aid programmes. The outlook for those who favour aid is not bright, but recent changes in thinking about development suggest that more sell‐reliant strategies could well be more beneficial to the poor than conventional aid‐supported strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Keith Griffin, 1991. "Foreign Aid after the Cold War," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 22(4), pages 645-685, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:22:y:1991:i:4:p:645-685
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7660.1991.tb00430.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Kohnert, Dirk & Elwert, Georg & Bierschenk, Thomas, 1993. "The long-term effects of development aid - Empirical studies in rural West Africa," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 47(1), pages 83-111.
    2. Yu Wang & Shuai Jin, 2013. "Veto players and foreign aid provision," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 43-56, March.
    3. Robert K. Fleck & Christopher Kilby, 2001. "Foreign Aid and Domestic Politics: Voting in Congress and the Allocation of USAID Contracts across Congressional Districts," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 67(3), pages 598-617, January.
    4. Michael A. Clemens & Steven Radelet & Rikhil Bhavnani, 2004. "Counting chickens when they hatch: The short-term effect of aid on growth," International Finance 0407010, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Beletskaya, M., 2019. "Bilateral International Assistance: Factors for Donor Countries," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 43(3), pages 95-114.
    6. Yu Wang, 2013. "Veto Players and Foreign Aid Inflows," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(3), pages 391-408, September.
    7. Padayachee, Vishnu, 1995. "Foreign capital and economic development in South Africa: Recent trends and postapartheid prospects," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 163-177, February.
    8. Krishna Chaitanya Vadlamannati & Yuanxin Li & Samuel Brazys & Alexander Dukalskis, 2019. "Building Bridges or Breaking Bonds? The Belt and Road Initiative and Foreign Aid Competition," Working Papers 201906, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    9. Arnold, Stephanie, 2024. "African agency in ICT infrastructure provider choice: Navigating access to foreign finance and technology," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(5).
    10. Taylor Fahy Winkleman & Grace Bagwell Adams, 2017. "An empirical assessment of the relationship between Official Development Aid and child mortality, 2000–2015," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 62(2), pages 231-240, March.
    11. Henry Scheyvens, 2005. "Reform of Japan’s official development assistance: a complete overhaul or merely a fresh coat of paint?," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 5(2), pages 89-98, April.
    12. Mark Duffield, 1993. "NGOs, Disaster Relief and Asset Transfer in the Horn: Political Survival in a Permanent Emergency," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 24(1), pages 131-158, January.
    13. Thompson, John, 1995. "Participatory approaches in government bureaucracies: Facilitating the process of institutional change," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 23(9), pages 1521-1554, September.
    14. Maestro Yarza, Irene & Martínez Peinado, Javier, 2012. "La cooperación al desarrollo como parte de la estructura económica del capitalismo global/Development Cooperation as a Part of the Economic Structure of Global Capitalism: Alternative or Reinforcement," Estudios de Economia Aplicada, Estudios de Economia Aplicada, vol. 30, pages 811-836, Diciembre.
    15. Sandra Sideri, 1993. "Restructuring the Post‐Cold War World Economy: Perspectives and a Prognosis," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 24(1), pages 7-28, January.

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