Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

10/17/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/17/2024 09:58

Aid fragmentation and development outcomes in Sub-Saharan African countries

Aid fragmentation and development outcomes in Sub-Saharan African countries

Examined the fragmentation of official development assistance and the role played by development outcomes.

From:Foreign, Commonwealth & Development OfficePublished31 January 2024
Document Type: Research PaperTheme: Economic GrowthAuthors: Dedehouanou, Sessinou Erick Abel

Abstract

This study examined the fragmentation of official development assistance (ODA) in Sub-Saharan African countries and the role played by development outcomes. Initially, it analyzed the fragmentation of aid over the period 2000 to 2019 using the Theil index. On the donor side, it appears that fragmentation of aid from bilateral Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donors and bilateral non-DAC donors has decreased significantly in recent years. In addition, the aid provided by bilateral DAC donors has been less fragmented than that given by non-DAC bilateral donors. Several traditional donors and so-called emerging donors have contributed to the fragmentation of aid in Sub-Saharan African countries. As for aid recipients, the countries of Southern Africa or those belonging to the group of so-called fragile States have suffered less from aid fragmentation than their counterparts in Central, East, and West Africa and those belonging to the group of non-fragile States. The study used an instrumental variables method and a panel quantile regression with non-additive fixed effect to assess the effect of the development factors on aid fragmentation.

The results obtained validated that the fragmentation of aid can be reduced by better coordination of aid at the sectoral level and above all by internal development factors (structural transformation policies and equity in the use of resources). Indeed, no solution to the fragmentation of aid is possible without the implementation of structural policies to achieve a level of development capable of coordinating the action of donors and equity in the use of resources allowing the satisfaction of the needs of various social groups.

This research is part of the Capacity for Economic Research and Policy making in Africa (CERPA) programme.

Citation

Dedehouanou SEA. 'Aid fragmentation and development outcomes in Sub-Saharan African countries' Research Paper 550, 2024

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Aid fragmentation and development outcomes in Sub-Saharan African countries

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Published 31 January 2024