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How Well is Aid Allocated? Descriptive Measures of Aid Allocation: A Survey of Methodology and Results

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  • Howard White
  • Mark McGillivray

Abstract

Although many factors affect which countries actually receive aid, a case can be made for evaluating donor allocative performance with respect to the average income of recipients. A number of indicators are commonly used for such an assessment. Based on criteria developed in this paper, two such indicators — Suits' index and McGillivray's adjusted performance index — are shown to be the most suitable. These indicators are used to compare the performance of bilateral donors: Denmark is found to have the most progressive aid allocation, and the USA the least progressive. The indicators are also used to assess trends in allocative performance for four donors: France, Japan, the UK and USA. There appears to have been a general worsening of allocative performance in the early 1980s, with some improvement in the later part of the decade.

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  • Howard White & Mark McGillivray, 1995. "How Well is Aid Allocated? Descriptive Measures of Aid Allocation: A Survey of Methodology and Results," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 26(1), pages 163-183, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:26:y:1995:i:1:p:163-183
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7660.1995.tb00547.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Yasemin Bal Gündüz & Masyita Crystallin, 2018. "Do IMF programs catalyze donor assistance to low-income countries?," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 359-393, September.
    4. Anke Hoeffler & Verity Outram, 2008. "Need, Merit or Self-Interest - What Determines the Allocation of Aid?," Economics Series Working Papers CSAE WPS/2008-19, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    5. Bourguignon, François & Platteau, Jean-Philippe, 2017. "Does Aid Availability Affect Effectiveness in Reducing Poverty? A Review Article," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 6-16.
    6. Jacky Amprou & Patrick Guillaumont & Sylviane Guillaumont Jeanneney, 2007. "Aid Selectivity According to Augmented Criteria," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 733-763, May.
    7. McGillivray, Mark, 2004. "Descriptive and prescriptive analyses of aid allocation: Approaches, issues, and consequences," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 275-292.
    8. Stijn Claessens & Danny Cassimon, 2007. "Empirical evidence on the new international aid architecture," WEF Working Papers 0026, ESRC World Economy and Finance Research Programme, Birkbeck, University of London.
    9. Miss Nkunde Mwase, 2011. "Determinants of Development Financing Flows From Brazil, Russia, India, and China to Low-Income Countries," IMF Working Papers 2011/255, International Monetary Fund.
    10. Robert Lensink & Howard White, 2000. "Aid allocation, poverty reduction and the Assessing Aid report," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(3), pages 399-412, April.
    11. Bickenbach, Frank & Mbelu, Asithandile & Nunnenkamp, Peter, 2019. "Is foreign aid concentrated increasingly on needy and deserving recipient countries? An analysis of Theil indices, 1995–2015," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 1-16.
    12. Howard White & Simon Feeny, 2003. "An Examination Of The Long-Run Trends And Recent Developments In Foreign Aid," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 28(1), pages 113-135, June.
    13. Milena Lopreite & Michelangelo Puliga & Massimo Riccaboni, 2018. "The Global Health Networks: A Comparative Analysis of Tuberculosis, Malaria and Pneumonia Using Social Media Data," Working Papers 01/2018, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, revised Jan 2018.
    14. Berthelemy, Jean-Claude & Tichit, Ariane, 2004. "Bilateral donors' aid allocation decisions--a three-dimensional panel analysis," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 253-274.
    15. Sergio Tezanos Vazquez (ICEI and QEH), "undated". "The Geographical Allocation Pattern of Spanish Official Development Assistance," QEH Working Papers qehwps152, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    16. Howard White, 2002. "Long-run Trends and Recent Developments in Official Assistance from Donor Countries," WIDER Working Paper Series DP2002-106, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    17. Kleemann, Linda & Nunnenkamp, Peter & Thiele, Rainer, 2014. "Gender inequality, female leadership, and aid allocation: A panel analysis of aid for education," WIDER Working Paper Series 010, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    18. White, Howard, 2004. "Trends in the volume and allocation of official flows from donor countries," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 233-244.
    19. Salois, Matthew J., 2013. "Regional changes in the distribution of foreign aid: An entropy approach," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 392(13), pages 2893-2902.
    20. Cogneau, Denis & Naudet, Jean-David, 2007. "Who Deserves Aid? Equality of Opportunity, International Aid, and Poverty Reduction," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 104-120, January.
    21. Linda Kleemann & Peter Nunnenkamp & Rainer Thiele, 2014. "Gender Inequality, Female Leadership, and Aid Allocation: A Panel Analysis of Aid for Education," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2014-010, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    22. Patrick Guillaumont & Sylviane Guillaumont Jeanneney & Jacky Amprou, 2011. "Aid Selectivity According to Augmented Criteria," CERDI Working papers halshs-00562658, HAL.
    23. van Dijk, Michiel, 2011. "What Factors Determine the Allocation of Aid to Agriculture?," 2011 International Congress, August 30-September 2, 2011, Zurich, Switzerland 114827, European Association of Agricultural Economists.

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