Foreign aid allocation, governance, and economic growth

Foreign aid to developing countries is a subject of heated debate among politicians, economists, and development specialists. Does aid promote economic growth and reduce poverty? Some argue that foreign aid has no effect on growth and may sometimes even undermine growth in aid recipient countries. Others suggest that foreign aid positively influences economic growth. Still others suggest that foreign aid has a positive impact on growth but this impact is conditional on a good institutional and policy environment. This debate has high stakes, given that foreign aid in the form of official development assistance (ODA) by leading donor nations reached over US$120 billion in 2010, the highest level ever recorded.Non-PRIFPRI1DSG