Foreign Aid: Policy and Practice offers a complete overview of the basics of foreign aid. Who is it for? Who pays for it? Why does it exist? What is it spent on? How much is it? And most important, does it work?
The aid debate has been flooded by academic studies and popular books that either challenge or champion the effectiveness of aid. Most presume that the reader already knows the basic facts and characteristics of the aid industry. This book provides readers with a comprehensive summary of the background, actors, core principles and policies, and intended (and unintended) outcomes of foreign aid, followed by a more informed and balanced treatment of the key controversies and trends in aid today. Drawing on the author’s 25 years’ experience in development practice and 15 years in teaching, the book reflects on recent efforts to accelerate aid’s impact and concludes by taking a look at the future of aid and the headwinds it will face in the first half of the 21st century.
Perfect for university teaching at advanced undergraduate and graduate levels, this book will also encourage development practitioners, policy makers, and members of the public to engage in more informed debates about aid and development finance.
Part I The Basics of Foreign Aid 1. Introduction 2. Setting the Context 3. The Main Actors: Recipients and Donors 4. How Aid Works Part II Effective Aid: Debates and Trends 5. Judging Donors’ Performance 6.: The Great Aid Effectiveness Debate 7. Opening the "Black Box" of Aid Effectiveness 8. The Rocky Road Towards Aid Effectiveness 9. Summing Up and Looking Ahead
Biography
Phyllis R. Pomerantz is Professor Emerita of the Practice of Public Policy at the Duke Center for International Development, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University, USA, where she has taught graduate students for over 15 years. Before this, she had a long career at the World Bank, including managerial appointments in agriculture, rural development, and infrastructure, and as a country director and the World Bank’s first Chief Learning Officer.
"An important and timely book as Foreign Aid is being rethought to account for climate change and pandemics. Prof. Pomerantz offers a magistral sweep of the who, why, what, and how of foreign aid and its transformation over six decades, informed by her long experience as practitioner and academic. The book provides both students and practitioners with a clear analysis of the debates on aid modalities and effectiveness. A must read for anyone interested in international affairs."
Jean-Louis Sarbib, Former Senior Vice President, The World Bank"Aid is often considered an arcane subject, debated by econometricians and decided by high-level policymakers. This book brings the subject down to earth. Written in an engaging style, the book covers the many controversies surrounding foreign aid and development, while giving the reader a sense of how decisions actually get made. Phyllis Pomerantz distills her experience as a development practitioner and professor to give students knowledge, skills and, most importantly, the ability to make a difference."
Shantayanan Devarajan Professor of the Practice of International Development, Georgetown University, USA"Phyllis Pomerantz brings the calm wisdom of an experienced veteran to the polarized debate on foreign aid. She shuns panaceas, because she deeply understands the nuances on how to make aid work better. This is required reading for aid practitioners and those who care about world poverty."
William Easterly is Professor of Economics at New York University and Co-director of the NYU Development Research Institute, USA"This excellent introduction to foreign aid covers all of the key issues, from its basic logic and procedures, to the evolution of the international institutions that have sought to coordinate aid policies, and to recent economic debates about how to make aid more effective. Balanced, clear and readable, this is likely to become the standard text book on the topic."
Nicolas van de Walle, Maxwell M. Upson Professor of Government, Cornell University, USA
