Variations of bilateral aid flows are difficult to explain on the basis of official development objectives or recipient need. Based on the example of US aid to Pakistan, this paper suggests alternative political economic explanations, notably the relevance of ethnic lobbying and the relevance of...

Evaluation is generally considered as an important tool to ensure the effective use of development aid, but it is itself subject to distortions. To derive institutional conditions conducive to effective evaluation, we develop a multi-level principal-agent model focusing on the interests of the...