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Foreign Aid after the Cold War
Author(s) -
Griffin Keith
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
development and change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1467-7660
pISSN - 0012-155X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-7660.1991.tb00430.x
Subject(s) - cold war , suspect , development aid , aid effectiveness , ideology , capital (architecture) , politics , political science , political economy , development economics , economics , economic growth , developing country , law , archaeology , history
This paper argues that foreign aid programmes originated as part of the ideological confrontation known as the Cold War and that the motives behind aid were always more political than economic. It is further argued that the economic justifications for foreign aid — filling ‘gaps’ in capital, technology and skills—are suspect and that the economic benefits in terms of long‐term development are at best negligible. Turning to the future, foreign aid programmes are bound to change to reflect the new realities of global international relations. Nine specific predictions are made about the future size and composition of aid programmes. The outlook for those who favour aid is not bright, but recent changes in thinking about development suggest that more sell‐reliant strategies could well be more beneficial to the poor than conventional aid‐supported strategies.