Aid for trade: do those countries that need it, get it?

This paper is designed to help both the beneficiary governments and donors of aid for trade identify countries that are under-performing in trade and which are receiving less aid for trade than their global performance might otherwise suggest is necessary. Building on previous work, it provides a procedure to assess potential need for spurring trade volume, and then looks at country allocations of aid for trade to see which are receiving below-average amounts in the supply of aid for trade – relative to their potential needs. Countries, as they design national development strategies, may wish to consider giving greater attention to trade and requesting that donors allocate to them more aid for trade. As part of the analysis, the paper provides a conceptual framework for selecting indicators of trade performance and its policy determinants that the WTO and its partners might monitor closely as part of the aid for trade initiative