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Foreign Aid Resurgent: New Spirit or Old Hangover?

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Part of the book series: Studies in Development Economics and Policy ((SDEP))

Abstract

The analysis in this chapter proceeds from a summary of aid’s decline in the 1990s and its recent recovery, to an explanation highlighting two potentially competing agendas: first, globalization and poverty; and second, post-9/11 and other new security concerns. The subsequent sections assess the contribution of political development aid to aid’s reviving fortunes, and argue that confused and imperfect understandings over the relationships between socioeconomic and political variables only make more likely a situation where realpolitik is a major determinant of aid, so that notwithstanding signs of aid’s recovery, its developmental impact will remain insecure.

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© 2008 United Nations University

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Burnell, P. (2008). Foreign Aid Resurgent: New Spirit or Old Hangover?. In: Addison, T., Mavrotas, G. (eds) Development Finance in the Global Economy. Studies in Development Economics and Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230594074_2

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