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The Aid 'Darlings' and 'Orphans' of the Great Lakes Region in Africa

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  • Stefaan Marysse
  • An Ansoms
  • Danny Cassimon

Abstract

This paper looks at the developmental consequences of aid flows on the Great Lakes region in Africa. Our main hypothesis is that political considerations and donor coordination problems still play an important role in directing aid and is much less dependent on objective criteria such as the need for aid or good governance. The region of the Great Lakes in Africa is a good illustration of the 'darlings' versus 'orphans' policy of official development assistance (ODA). Departing somewhat from the dominant pessimist stance on the effectiveness of aid in sub-Sahara Africa we will try to show that overall, the costs of exclusion of certain countries from aid are detrimental for human development. In order to avoid this inclusion/exclusion pattern of aid, a regional donor approach should overarch the dominant country by country donor policy. Cet article essaie d'analyser les conséquences des flux d'aide sur le développement de trois pays dans la région des Grands Lacs d'Afrique. Les considérations politiques et les problèmes de coordination entre bailleurs de fonds mènent à un traitement différencié de la part de la communauté internationale. Ce traitement différencié est une illustration parfaite de la thèse sur l'exclusion/inclusion de certains pays de l'aide internationale. Les conséquences de cette politique, loin d'être le produit d'une rationalité d'aide basé sur les besoins d'aide ou les mérites de gouvernance des pays dépendants, peuvent avoir des effets néfastes en termes de développement.

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  • Stefaan Marysse & An Ansoms & Danny Cassimon, 2007. "The Aid 'Darlings' and 'Orphans' of the Great Lakes Region in Africa," The European Journal of Development Research, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 433-458.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:eurjdr:v:19:y:2007:i:3:p:433-458
    DOI: 10.1080/09578810701504453
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    1. World Bank, 2006. "World Development Indicators 2006," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 8151.
    2. 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.
    3. Ravallion, Martin, 2001. "Growth, Inequality and Poverty: Looking Beyond Averages," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(11), pages 1803-1815, November.
    4. Brautigam, Deborah A & Knack, Stephen, 2004. "Foreign Aid, Institutions, and Governance in Sub-Saharan Africa," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 52(2), pages 255-285, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ronald B. Davies & Stephan Klasen, 2013. "Of Donor Coordination, Free-Riding, Darlings, and Orphans: The Dependence of Bilateral Aid on Other Bilateral Giving," CESifo Working Paper Series 4177, CESifo.
    2. Danny Cassimon & Dennis Essers & Karel Verbeke, 2016. "The changing face of Rwanda's public debt," BeFinD Working Papers 0114, University of Namur, Department of Economics.
    3. Magdalena Kania, 2021. "Sub-state Governments as Rising Stakeholders in Development Cooperation. The Added Value of Regional Governments in the Light of Debates on Effectiveness in Development," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 33(3), pages 604-625, June.
    4. Takeuchi, Shinichi, 2011. "Gacaca and DDR:The Disputable Record of State-Building in Rwanda," Working Papers 32, JICA Research Institute.
    5. Diemel, J.A. & Cuvelier, J., 2015. "Explaining the uneven distribution of conflict-mineral policy implementation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: The role of the Katanga policy network (2009–2011)," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(P2), pages 151-160.
    6. Emmanuel Frot & Javier Santiso, 2011. "Herding in Aid Allocation," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(1), pages 54-74, February.
    7. Sam Desiere & Lotte Staelens & Marijke D’Haese, 2016. "When the Data Source Writes the Conclusion: Evaluating Agricultural Policies," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(9), pages 1372-1387, September.
    8. Liam Swiss & Stephen Brown, 2015. "The aid orphan myth," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(2), pages 240-256, February.
    9. Graham Harrison, 2016. "Rwanda: an agrarian developmental state?," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 354-370, February.
    10. Devon E.A. Curtis, 2015. "Development assistance and the lasting legacies of rebellion in Burundi and Rwanda," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(7), pages 1365-1381, July.
    11. Curtis, Devon E. A., 2014. "Local agency, development assistance and the legacies of rebellion in Burundi and Rwanda," WIDER Working Paper Series 128, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    12. An Ansoms & Donatella Rostagno, 2012. "Rwanda's Vision 2020 halfway through: what the eye does not see," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(133), pages 427-450, September.
    13. Hackenesch, Christine, 2015. "It’s Domestic Politics, Stupid! EU Democracy Promotion Strategies Meet African Dominant Party Regimes," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 85-96.
    14. Devon E. A. Curtis, 2014. "Local Agency, Development Assistance and the Legacies of Rebellion in Burundi and Rwanda," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2014-128, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    15. Roberto Iacono & Krishna Chaitanya Vadlamannati, 2024. "Unintended Consequences of Externally Aided Projects on Fiscal Transfers: A Subnational Study of India," CESifo Working Paper Series 11498, CESifo.
    16. Anne Décobert & Tamas Wells, 2020. "Interpretive Complexity and Crisis: the History of International Aid to Myanmar," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(2), pages 294-315, April.
    17. Ronald B. Davies & Stephan Klasen, 2019. "Darlings and Orphans: Interactions across Donors in International Aid," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 121(1), pages 243-277, January.
    18. Leo de Haan, 2010. "Perspectives on African Studies and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa," Africa Spectrum, Institute of African Affairs, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 45(1), pages 95-116.

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