Chapter 9 Chapter Summary

This chapter provides an overview of the main actors, modalities, and resource flows involved in the bilateral aid that countries in the North provide to recipients in the South. The chapter shows, for instance, how the size of a donor’s aid program can differ greatly from its relative generosity. Key terms are explained, including the different forms of aid, such as tied aid, as well as various types of aid donors. Aid can be provided by governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, private foundations, and individuals. The chapter also explores the different reasons donors provide assistance: sometimes out of humanitarian concern, but often relating to their self-interests, including commercial, diplomatic, or security interests.

The chapter examines global trends in the provision of bilateral aid, including a comparison of important donors that illustrates how their motives, geographical focus, and priorities can vary. Some focus on their own security interests, while others concentrate their aid in former colonies, their “neighbourhood,” or the world’s poorest countries, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. The chapter also considers which regions and countries receive the most aid, as well as which ones are most dependent on it. Current trends and controversies in foreign aid are discussed. For instance, should aid seek to create economic growth or should it target more directly poverty reduction? What kinds of countries should receive the most aid?