Development Aid Policy Research Articles

How do donors integrate climate policy and development cooperation? An analysis of the development aid policies of 42 donor countries

ABSTRACT This article assesses how donor countries integrate climate action into their development aid policies. An analytical framework is developed for the systematic comparison of development aid policies along three dimensions: hierarchy of policy objectives, types of measures the donors implement, and linkages to international climate negotiations. Analyzing the development aid policies of 42 donors, we find that only three have redesigned their development aid policies to fully integrate climate policy concerns. Instead, donors treat climate change as a thematic priority area. This includes several donors that are currently not obliged to provide climate finance under the UNFCCC. Furthermore, five major donor countries emphasize the use of diverse foreign policy tools to support climate action in developing countries. Importantly, we identify how other development goals (poverty, gender) are integrated with climate policy goals. Only two donor countries clearly separate development aid and climate finance. Luxembourg states that its climate finance pledge is additional to development, while New Zealand has a separate climate finance strategy where the allocation of funds is based on climate mitigation effectiveness concerns.

Developing The World By Teaching Domestic Consumption: Swiss Supermarkets And The Emergence Of Development Aid Policies In The Early Postwar Period

In the early post-Second World War period, Migros of Switzerland was the first European retail business to adopt the American supermarket model. Its success, however, has not only been a matter of technological and logistical innovation. Migros’ founder, Gottlieb Duttweiler, was convinced that consumer education was part and parcel of a new style of selling consumption. This conviction was at the basis of a strategy entering foreign markets and of exporting the Migros model abroad. Similar to post-World War II economic rehabilitation programs, Duttweiler pursued an indigenous modernization agenda, based on a new principle of “rational consumption”—he did not hesitate to label this as a genuine version of entrepreneurial development aid. Against the backdrop of the establishment of Migros’ activities in Turkey, this article discusses the participation of entrepreneurs in the international development policies after the Second World War. The history of Migros Türk sheds light not only on the entrepreneurial approach to modernization policy, which was often different to that adopted in government programs, but also on how this influenced critical consumerism inside and outside Switzerland over the long term.

Transformative innovation policies detached from existing systems of innovation in the global south

ABSTRACT Addressing the identified lack of empirical evidence of how the transformative innovation policy (TIP) agenda is implemented in practice, this paper looks at how contemporary policy practices framed as TIP take into account and build upon existing systems of innovation in the global south. We do so by studying a development aid policy programme in Norway targeting the SDGs and transformative change in the global south. The findings show that priority is given to implementing and upscaling Western solutions and that there has been a subordinate orientation towards the local demand these solutions are meant to serve, and to the innovation systems they are meant to strengthen. Based on these findings, we discuss whether this form of technology transfer detached from local production- and innovation systems is the most effective way to secure long-term local capacity building and transformative change in the global south.

Decentralised international development aid from municipalities: Exploring its added value, challenges and implications for international social work

This study focuses on international development aid policies implemented by municipalities. By proposing a theoretical framework and addressing the Spanish context, it first explores the added value and the challenges involved with this kind of decentralised aid. Second, it discusses the implications in terms of the competencies required by social workers in order to leverage the potential of these aid policies. The research draws on the qualitative analysis of documents, interviews and discussion groups. It concludes that international social workers need knowledge, values and skills in widely different aspects in order to overcome the challenges entailed in aid from municipalities.

Development Aid and Turkish Foreign Policy: A Proposal for Periodization (2002-2022)

Kalkınma yardımları özellikle yükselen güçler açısından uluslararası politikada bir etkinlik gösterisi ve statü arayışı bağlamında tartışılagelmektedir. Türkiye de 1990’lı yıllardan itibaren kalkınma yardımlarını dış politik öncelik ve tercihler bağlamında organize etmeye başlamıştır. Bu çalışma ise Türk dış politikasında 2000’li yıllardaki süreklilik ve değişim unsurlarını kalkınma yardımlarının miktar, coğrafi ve sektörel dağılım unsurları bağlamında evrimi ile ilişkilendirmekte ve dış politika dönemselleştirmesi önermektedir. İlk olarak dış politika- dış yardım ilişkisini yükselen güçler literatürüne referansla özetlemekte ve dış politika çalışmalarındaki dönemselleştirme konusunu ele almaktadır. Sonrasında ise farklı dış yardım pratikleri ile dış politika gündemindeki değişiklikler arasındaki paralellikleri tespit etmek amacıyla farklı dış yardım pratikleri tarihsel bir bağlam içerisinde ele almaktadır. Çalışma Türk dış yardımlarının değişik zamanlarda farklılaşan coğrafi, ekonomik, siyasi ve insani önceliklerinin Türk Dış Politikasının dönüşümü üzerine aydınlatıcı bir anlatı sunduğunu iddia etmektedir.

Integration et immigration : un enjeu du dynamisme social et consequences des politiques d’aide publique au developpement

Official development assistance has shown its limits in the face of persistent poverty on the African continent. Some think that the development aid policies adopted, better still, led by the West are incompatible with African culture. Others, on the other hand, believe that official development assistance fuels Africa's dependence on the West and therefore promotes its continued underdevelopment. Indeed, it is obvious that aid policies maintain an asymmetrical relationship between the two partners. However, although the Western model of development is opposed to the African socio-political archaeology, it is no less true that Africa is capable of experiencing cultural changes. This study proposes to explore two paths deemed to be able to make Africa flourish. It is first of all the integration of Africa into the West through the process of immigration in order to allow this continent to redefine its culture and thus forge a new way of perceiving Western science. Secondly, the highlighting of immigration issues in the equation between the North and the South of the Mediterranean is a game-changer in the cooperation relationship between the West and Africa. A relationship of symmetry, of equals, is possible for both Africa and Europe. Keywords: official development assistance, integration, immigration, dependency, Afro-European.

Economic Growth, Foreign Direct Investments and Official Development Assistance Nexus: Panel ARDL Approach

Scholars and practitioners are torn between diverging viewpoints on the contribution of foreign assistance and foreign direct investment to the economic development, economic growth, and prosperity of Africa. This paper aims to examine the long-term and causal relationship between foreign direct investment, official development assistance, and economic growth for 20 selected African countries from 2000–2018. Autoregressive distributed lags and the error correction model were used as the primary estimation techniques. The results indicated a notable positive long-term cointegrating relationship between official development assistance and economic growth, and between economic growth and foreign direct investment, as well as a cointegrating link between foreign direct investment and official development assistance. Economic growth was found to promote official development assistance, while foreign direct investment was found to encourage economic growth and official development assistance was found to promote economic growth in the long run. Since foreign direct investment and official development assistance are important to economic growth in a spiral effect, African countries are encouraged to put in place policies that attract foreign direct investment and official development assistance. Thus, African countries should align their foreign and domestic investment and official development aid policies with their national developmental goals to attract foreign donations and investments.

Norwegian Development Aid: A Paradigm Shift in the Making?

Norway has remained committed to allocating one percent of its Gross National Income in developing aid. Poverty reduction has also stayed as an overarching objective for the aid budget. The commitment to these traditional pillars in Norwegian aid is also accompanied by major changes: reduced focus on partner countries and bilateral aid and an expanding emphasis on supporting global action, the rise of a flourishing number of new thematic priorities and delivery through multilateral channels. This article maps the evolving continuities and changes in Norwegian development aid since the early 1990s. It relies on an analytical framework based on Peter Halls work on paradigm shifts and his distinction between first, second and third order changes. The explanation for the evolving profile of Norwegian aid is found in a combination of domestic driving forces. Based on Matthew Wood’s concepts of puzzling and powering dynamics behind paradigm shifts the article identifies the forces behind evolving aid policies. One is depolitisation behind Norwegian aid – a broad political and popular support and consensus but limited debate leaving much space for foreign policy and self-interest to shape implementation and selection of instruments. A second is linked to a change in the policy arena and the growing dominance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This has led to a multifaceted and fragmented aid profile allowing various dimensions of development aid policies to be shaped by different interests and priorities. It has not yet reached a stage where we can identify a major break with the past and a radical policy transformation. The new focus on climate issues and migration may have the potential to change that and give self-interests a stronger influence over long-term development aid and its objectives. Changes in coalition politics may have the potential to change the majority behind the one percent target and the commitment to poverty reduction.

Changes in international development aid policy: from Trump to Biden

International development assistance is an integral part of the foreign economic and foreign policy activities of the US government. International aid is one of the largest components of US foreign relations spending and is regarded by many members of Congress as one of the most important foreign policy instruments. However, many US citizens and members of Congress feel that the US cannot afford such international aid spending, given the current budget deficit and competing budgetary priorities. As one of the largest donors of international development aid, the United States is of considerable interest to many researchers, including those who study trends in the polarization of attitudes toward foreign policy, including international aid. This article is devoted to the current US policy in the field of international development cooperation at the beginning of the presidency of Joe Biden. It examines the economic component of US government assistance: the total amount of US economic assistance, as well as the structure of international aid spending and country priorities for US economic assistance, are considered. An assessment of the prospects for US assistance is presented based on an analysis of the Joint Strategic Plan of the State Department and the Agency for International Assistance 2022-2026 and the US National Security Strategy 2022. Despite the stability and relative inertia of the international aid system, one can observe an increase in US interest in development assistance after the transition of power to President Biden, including in the context of competition with China.

Development aid benefits for donor countries

The article is based on the doctoral dissertation: ?International Development Aid as an Instrument for Achieving the Foreign Policy Objectives of France and Germany?. The main hypothesis of this article is that development aid is being used as an instrument for achieving foreign policy objectives and that it is, in this sense, primarily beneficial for donor countries. The article analyses the developmental inequality in the modern global capitalist order and the impact of corporations and development aid on the maintenance of such a system. The article focuses on two main EU member states: the Republic of France and the Federal Republic of Germany. By shifting the paradigm from the one in which less developed countries benefit the most from development aid policies to the one in which, in the long run, the countries that initiate these policies benefit the most, the article shows that larger and politically and economically more powerful countries use development aid policies to promote their own interests and achieve their foreign policy goals.

Cabo Verde and the United States of America: a bicentennial relationship

Changes in the distribution of world power suggest that insular countries such as Cabo Verde should diversify international cooperation and thus ensure long-term benefits. This premise, combined with principles of solidarity, mutual respect, transparency and responsibility has enabled the signing of various agreements between Cabo Verde and the United States of America in the areas of security and defence, development aid policy, democracy and human rights. This article critically discusses the main gains achieved in the relationship between the United States of America and Cabo Verde, an former Portuguese colony until July 1975 and, after that date, an independent state, with the purpose of providing an analytical framework to respond to the current challenges. To do this, an exploratory qualitative study was carried out based on bibliographical and documentary analysis. The article concludes that Cabo Verde and the United States of America have been following the evolution of the international community, taking into account the importance in the region where the archipelago is inserted, sharing synergies and exchanging experiences in matters of development, defence and security.

Participatory developmental approach and the implementation of international aid policies: Yemen as a case study

ABSTRACT This study sheds light on the factors that affect the effectiveness of implementing international development policies in recipient countries. The implementation of international aid policy should focus not only on what can be implemented and on what can work, but also on incorporating local knowledge and skills to ensure effective implementation aligned with the local environment. By adopting the participatory approach, the implementation of international development aid policies becomes a learning process to better understand the local environment and specific political and social contexts during implementation. It is noted that the implementation of development policies in the international context is a complex and interactive process between stakeholders from both the donor and the recipient and calls for building consensus and resolving disputes that may arise between the main stakeholders. In this study, the participatory development approach introduced in the framework of Dutch aid aimed at reforming the public education sector in Yemen, with projects aimed at reforming the higher education sector as a case study.

Tensions at the outset of a common European Development Policy: clientelism, conditionality and effectiveness

ABSTRACT In this article I look at the 1970s debates between the member states of the European Communities and the European Commission regarding the criteria to be used to select European Development Fund (EDF) projects and the use of political conditionality in the first EEC development aid framework, specifically, the Lomé Convention. These debates are interesting for what they reveal in terms of EEC legitimacy and way of functioning as a new actor in the field of development aid and foreign policy. They demonstrate that the legitimacy of the European Commission – and of the EEC/EU as an external actor – remained linked to personal and client-based relationships with African heads of state. The effect of this was that instead of being able to impose its own norms and criteria (whether economic or political), the EEC was forced to compromise with and adapt to the norms and criteria of its African clients.

COVID-19 Related Development Aid Provided by the US and the Russian Federation

The outbreak of the pandemic of COVID-19 in 2020 affected all spheres of human life and reiterated the important role of international development cooperation. This paper provides a qualitative study of the international assistance by the United States and Russian Federation as active donors and suppliers of vaccines against the COVID-19 virus. The research is based on publications in scientific journals, as well as up-to-date information on the official websites of U.S. and Russian government agencies related to the provision of such assistance. In addition, publications of aggregated data on the fight against the spread of coronavirus are used. The results indicate that in spite of a large gap between the U.S. and Russia’s development aid volumes, the political ambitions and actual objectives of development aid policies are similar. The initial response to the pandemic was similar between both countries. However, as the situation developed, the attitude towards vaccination and subsequently providing vaccine doses as aid proved to be different between the U.S. and Russia. While the U.S. concentrated heavily on the vaccination of its own population, Russia made an emphasis on using its vaccine as a “soft power” on the international market.

Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe: What Impact Do they Have on Development Policy?

AbstractPrevious research suggests that the rise of populist radical right parties (PRRPs) is contributing to the politicization of European domestic and external policies. However, whether this is also the case for European development policy is unclear. Building on a new dataset that analyses government positions and coalition agreements across European countries since the 1990s, we investigate whether, and if so how, the strength of PRRPs affects European governments' framing of the relationship between migration and development policy. Research on PRRPs suggests that they influence other parties' positions directly when they are in government, or indirectly by framing topics such as migration differently from other parties, thereby pushing government and opposition parties to modify their own positions. We find (moderate) support for PRRPs' indirect influence on the framing and salience of the migration–development policy nexus, via their vote and seat share. The effect of PRRPs in government on the formulation of development aid policy goals is smaller.

Agricultural productivity and poverty of agricultural households in Burkina Faso

Reducing the number of people living below poverty or ensuring that those who are above the poverty line do not fall back into poverty is one of the priorities of those who are concerned about people's well-being. To achieve this, governments need a number of specific indicators to define the content of development aid policies. The objective of this article is to analyse the effects of agricultural productivity on poverty of agricultural households in Burkina Faso. To do this, a multidimensional analysis of poverty is adopted. Logistic regressions in randomised cylinder panels have highlighted the effects of agricultural productivity on poverty of agricultural households. The technical efficiency of farm households, particularly in cereal and groundnut crops, has a positive effect on the probability of getting out of the income poverty of farm households. This is not the case in cotton crops. On the basis of these results, any policy aiming at effectively reducing the poverty of agricultural households should, as a priority, reinforce the technical efficiency of cereals and groundnut farmers.

Agricultural productivity and poverty of agricultural households in Burkina Faso

Reducing the number of people living below poverty or ensuring that those who are above the poverty line do not fall back into poverty is one of the priorities of those who are concerned about people's well-being. To achieve this, governments need a number of specific indicators to define the content of development aid policies. The objective of this article is to analyse the effects of agricultural productivity on poverty of agricultural households in Burkina Faso. To do this, a multidimensional analysis of poverty is adopted. Logistic regressions in randomised cylinder panels have highlighted the effects of agricultural productivity on poverty of agricultural households. The technical efficiency of farm households, particularly in cereal and groundnut crops, has a positive effect on the probability of getting out of the income poverty of farm households. This is not the case in cotton crops. On the basis of these results, any policy aiming at effectively reducing the poverty of agricultural households should, as a priority, reinforce the technical efficiency of cereals and groundnut farmers.

European Summer School 2017 Best Paper Prize Winner Courting the non-aligned: Romania, petro-diplomacy and the global Cold War

ABSTRACT This article discusses Romania’s burgeoning development aid policy to the post-colonial space. By leveraging its expertise in petroleum extraction to forge a strategic relationship with India in the 1950s, Bucharest was able to gain a strategic foothold as oil assistance provider to the non-aligned countries. This text details Romania’s efforts to help build India’s national oil industry by bringing into focus the broad nexus of forces at play in such process. It therefore aims to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of ‘the Second World’s Third World’ by discussing the ideological and geopolitical considerations of both East-East and East-South relations.

Oceans without History? Marine Cultural Heritage and the Sustainable Development Agenda

This paper aims to set out the role Marine Cultural Heritage (MCH) can play in informing responses to global challenges and enhancing the sustainable development of coastal zones. This requires recognition of the importance of MCH as a knowledge base amongst marine ocean scientists, policy makers and marine stakeholders on the one hand and a greater effort by marine heritage specialists to engage with the 2030 Agenda on the other. The forthcoming UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030) provides an opportunity to engage with the sea more widely but it is argued that the cultural element provided by considering past human action is currently lacking. The importance of understanding human interaction with the sea in terms of gaining a more complete picture of human history is briefly presented and a definition of MCH as all past action in the human zone is given. The article then sets out how MCH can enhance sustainable development in the marine zone with particular reference to SDG14 considering heritage tourism, coastal development and infrastructure, development aid policy, climate change, coastal management, fisheries and the offshore industry. The article highlights that the knowledge and data from MCH should be seen as crucial in evidence-based decision making across the coastal and marine sectors. The paper concludes that the inclusion of MCH approaches in initiatives aiming at coastal and ocean sustainability is not just advisable—it is essential.

Development Diplomacy: Learning from the Chinese Aid in Building A Road in Nepal

Infrastructures development is the backbone of a country's economy. The developing countries like Nepal have to rely upon foreign assistance for the constructions of its mega projects, which need high investment cost, technology, and capable human resources. On this scenario, China government had assisted Nepal in building the eight lanes wide and ten kilometers long Koteswor to Kalanki section of the ring road. This paper describes how local road beneficiaries in Nepal perceive the construction work based on the Chinese model and their understanding on foreign aid development. The paper is based on a qualitative study with an interpretative case study design. The study has revealed that though the development aid policy of the developed nations is useful to maintain the cordial relations with the other developing nations, but at the same time, the people-centered development should not be undermined under this whole process. The explorations of this research are useful in framing appropriate plans and policies for the governments to orient the foreign aid development as per the needs of a larger section of people.