The Reality of Aid 2000

An independent review of poverty reduction and development assistance

Judith Randel, Tony German, Deborah Ewing

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781134070374
• Topic: Economics
• Subtopic: Development Economics
• Index: Economics

NOW IN ITS SEVENTH ANNUAL EDITION,
The Reality of Aid 2000 looks at how the performance of OECD donor countries on aid and development cooperation has matched up to the challenge of eliminating absolute poverty.

The report charts some improvements at the level of donor policy and rhetoric. But its stark conclusion is that the potential of aid to combat poverty is constantly undermined by governments, both North and South, who fail to address the extreme inequalities of income and the structural, social and political injustices that entrench people in poverty.

Part I of The Reality of Aid 2000 presents an overview of poverty in the current global context and an analysis of
recent trends in aid - looking particularly at basic education. In Part II, chapters by experts from NGOs in
OECD countries and the European Union show how donor aid administrations approach poverty - and highlight the weakness of political commitment in the North to the needs of the poor. Part III sets out Southern perspectives on development cooperation. Part IV provides 'at a glance' comparisons of donors' aid outlook and commitment to development cooperation in the 21st century, poverty eradication, gender and public support.

Throughout the book, information is presented in easily interpreted diagrams and graphs.

The Reality of Aid has established itself as a unique source of independent evaluation and comment on aid policies and development. It is indispensable for all in the field, whether in the official or voluntary sectors, providing a regular reality check on just how much the international community is doing to realise the achievable goal of eliminating poverty.

'Indispensable ... it gives you most of the hard facts you need to know about the major issues'
Nett-' Internationalist
'The most comprehensive and rigorous independent analysis of the aid and development policies of the world's wealthiest nations ... Essential reading'
Charity World
'The Reality of Aid remains an essential purchase by the libraries of development institutions and an invaluable reference for development practitioners'
Development & Change
'A reliable 'watchdog' for anyone interested in this important aspect of international relations'
ORBIT
'An accessible reference ... [it] encompasses many key issues and stimulates further research'
Commonwealth & Comparative Politics

Originally published in 1999

 

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Part I

The Reality of Aid versus
the Reality of Poverty

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World aid at a glance

Percentage of national income spent on aid: a 30-year picture

How much aid does the DAC give?

Where is DAC aid spent?

What is DAC aid spent on?

For notes on data and sources see page 286

How much of DAC aid is spent through multilateral organisations?

How much of DAC aid goes to the poorest countries?

Box 1 World aid at a glance

How much aid do the 21 OECD donors give?

The donors gave	US$51,521 million in 1998^1
that was	0.23% of their total GNP
and	0.59% of combined total government expenditure
which meant	US$63 per person in 1998

Is it going up or down?

In 1998 aid	rose by US$3,197 million, a real-terms rise of 8.9%
8 donors	were less generous, reducing the proportion of GNP allocated to development assistance
10 donors	were more generous
Private flows	amounted to US$100.2 billion in 1998, a decrease of US$142.3 billion over 1997, but still nearly twice the volume of ODA

What proportion of bilateral aid goes to basic education and basic health?

In 1997 17 countries² reported their bilateral aid committed to basic education, basic health, and population and reproductive health. Their combined commitments were:

Basic education	1.44% combined bilateral ODA – an average country effort of 2.1%
Basic health	1.72% of bilateral ODA – an average country effort of 2.9%
Population and
reproductive health	1.24% of bilateral ODA – an average country effort of 0.8%

How much goes to the poorest countries?

Just over half

of DAC ODA (50.7%) was spent in low income countries with an average per capita income of US$2 a day in 1997

How much OECD aid is tied to purchases from the donor country?

Just over a quarter

of DAC bilateral aid (26.5%) is given on the condition it is used only to purchase goods and services from the donor country. This excludes Technical Cooperation which is mostly tied to services from the donor and which amounted to 40% of...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Contents
• List of boxes and tables
• Acknowledgement
• Foreword by Bin Enge
• The Reality of Aid Project
• Part I: The Reality of Aid versus the Reality of Poverty
• World aid at a glance
• The context of international development cooperation by Humberto Campodónico
• Trends towards the new millennium by Judith Randel and Tony German
• Trends in basic education by Anna Jellema
• Part II A Review of Aid Donors
• Australia by Garth Luke, ACFOA
• Canada by Brian Tomlinson, CCIC
• Japan by Akio Takayanagi, JANIC
• New Zealand by Pat Webster, CID
• Norway by Gunnar Garbo, NPA
• Switzerland by Richard Gerster, Swiss Coalition
• United States by Carol Lancaster, InterAction
• European Union by Mirjam van Reisen, Eurostep
• Austria by Karin Küblböck, and Michael Obrovsky ÖFSE
• Belgiumby Melanie Schellens, NCOS
• Denmark by Bibi Under, MS
• Finland by Folke Sundman and Mark Waller, KePa
• France by Olivier Blamangin, CRID
• Germany by Birgit Dederichs-Bain and Thomas Fues, DWHH and tdh
• Ireland by Michael O’Brien, Concern Worldwide
• Italy by José Luis Rhi-Sausi and Marco Zupi, Movimondo
• The Netherlands by Caroline Wildeman, NOVIB
• Portugal by Maria do Céu Ferro, OIKOS
• Spain by Gonzalo Fanjul, Intermón
• Sweden by Svante Sandberg, Forum Syd
• United Kingdom by Mark Curtis and Anna Jefferys, ActionAid
• Part III Perspectives from the South on Development Cooperation
• Latin America: the economy and the environment collapse on the region’s poorest people by Humberto Campodónico, DESCO, and Mariano Valderrama, CEPES
• Latin America: cooperation and basic education by ALOP
• Africa: aid, debt and development by Twisema S Muyoya, MWENGO
• Uganda: poverty and basic education by Tumutegyereize Kennedy, Uganda Debt Network
• Zambia: trends in donor support to education by Allast Mwanza
• India: because the market tells them so by Binu S Thomas, ActionAid India
• Part IV Donors Compared At a Glance
• The outlook for aid
• Donor responses to international development goals and Shaping the 21st Century
• Donor government policies and poverty reduction
• Making sure that every aid dollar contributes to poverty eradication
• Measuring aid for poverty reduction
• Donor policies and actions on basic education
• Donor approaches to gender
• Political and public opinion in donor countries
• Government funding for information, public relations and development education
• Part V Reference Section
• Participating agencies
• Glossary
• Source notes
• Exchange rates