The Age of Choice: Developing Countries in the New Aid Landscape

Abstract

The aim of this paper is explore the implications of the new and complex aid landscape for developing country governments. In 2000, development assistance was overwhelmingly provided by traditional bilateral and multilateral donors, which provided aid in specific ways and according to a particular set of norms. Today, this is being complemented by the growth of other forms of development assistance, including from non-Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donors, climate finance funds, social impact investors, philanthropists and global funds, as well as less concessional flows. This study explores the challenges and opportunities this new landscape presents to developing country governments. It does this in three ways: First, it provides a provisional taxonomy of the various forms of development assistance, including the less traditional flows. Second, it uses this taxonomy to provide a first-cut estimate of the volume, composition and recent trends in development assistance. Third, it summarises the findings of three country case studies in Cambodia, Ethiopia and Zambia. These studies seek to understand: ? The volume and composition of flows at country level; ? The priorities governments have in managing them; ? The fora in which governments seek to engage with different groups of providers1; and ? The extent to which governments have been successful in meeting their objectives.