Most studies treat aid flows as a unitary concept with a standard result that aid does not affect long-run economic growth or development. This chapter argues that the standard finding may be misleading if different types of aid have different effects. To alleviate this problem, I use factor...

Achieving healthy lives and well-being for all, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 3, requires a multifaceted development approach underpinned by substantial investments. This chapter presents an argument for using disaggregated (micro level) information to develop evidence-based health...

How can foreign aid be more effective? The development community has found one such answer in a movement to identify best aid practices, and to monitor, evaluate, and rank the performance of different aid donors along these measures. Although foreign aid donors have committed to implementing...

Foreign aid effectiveness has been a hugely explored topic in the economic development and political economy literature. In spite of disagreements in the literature with regard to aid effectiveness, it can be undisputedly argued that aid is an important source of capital for many recipient...

Rich economies are characterized by high state capacity. During the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) era, the development community has emphasized both increases in foreign aid and the building of state capacity in recipient countries. Therefore, knowing whether the former promotes or impedes...

Despite the democracy-enhancing intentions of most donors, foreign aid can often offer opportunities for governments to politically repress their populations. This chapter argues and presents evidence that aid from the world's largest bilateral donor - the United States - harms political rights...

Foreign aid’s impact on recipients' institutions is a much-researched topic. Does foreign aid have the power to affect political and economic institutions? Many studies have characterized aid’s impact on institutional quality as being detrimental; however, there are counter arguments and...

This chapter highlights the increasing utilization of private aid in economic development. While there is a broad appeal for using private development assistance over official development assistance, limitations to effectiveness do remain. Those who view private aid as a cure-all for development...

This chapter discusses the role of personal remittances and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as forms of international private aid. We argue that remittances and FDIs are not only the most prevalent forms of private aid, but also the most effective forms at improving standards of living, market...