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Introduction
Itisastonishingthatassistanceprovidedforforeigneconomicdevelopment,
initiatedasapoliticalconceptinthelate1940s,hasevolvedinaveryshorttimeto
theextentofadistinctiveideology,asemi-sovereignnationalpolicyandaseparate
discourseinsocialsciences.Eveninstrictlyeconomicterms,foreignassistance
carriesanimmenseloadofconnotationsandemotionsthatwerebuiltaroundthe
coreissue,i.e.theflowofconcessionalresourcesbetweenstateactors.Startingfrom
motives,frompurelyaltruisticuptocommercialgainsandnationalself-interest;
thenlookingattheimpactonrecipients,frompreservingneo-colonialsubordination
ofthedevelopingworlduptotheonlyeffectivesolutionforthenationstoescape
fromextremepovertyandmisery;finally,movingtotheeffectivenessofprovided
assistance,inrelationtothecountlessfactorsinfluencinggrowthandsocio-economic
development,suchastypeofprovidedaid,typeofregimeinarecipientcountry,
macroeconomicpolicies,qualityofinstitutions,endowmentinhuman,physicaland
socialcapital,anditsproductivity.
Alreadyin1966,CheneryandStroutnoticedthatforeignassistancemeans
somethingmorethansimplyintergovernmentalgrantsandloansortechnicalco-
operationschemes.“Theinflowofexternalresources-whichcanlooselybecalled
‘foreignassistance’-hasbecomevirtuallyaseparatefactorofproduction”(Chenery
andStrout1966:679).Now,nearlyfiftyyearslater,thecitedstatementremains
unchallenged.Whenaddressingtheissueofeconomicdevelopmentofso-called
‘developingcountries,’foreignaid,nexttotradeandinvestments,isbeingtreatedas
abasicandobvioussourceofcapitalandadrivingfactorofeconomicdevelopment
process.
Despiteupsanddowns,includingtherecentfinancialcrisis,thetotalquantum
offoreignassistanceprovidedbythelargestdevelopedeconomiescanbeillustrated
byaclearlynoticeableupwardtrend.Startingfrom$37.61bnin1960,reaching
$83.01bnin1990,upto$134.36bnin2014(inconstant2013USdollars)(OECD/
DAC2015).Thosefundsoilanenormousaidindustry,composedofthousands
employees,numerousresearchunits,development-orientedinternationalorganisations,
aidagencies,implementationunitsinthefield,departmentsofrecipients’governments,
non-governmentalorganisationsandotherstakeholders.
StartingfromtheendoftheColdWar,whenthesystemofSovietaidcollapsed,
uptoveryrecently,theaidindustrywasnearlyasoledomainofindustrialized
Westerncountriesandinternationalorganisations.Withthelattermostlyrepresenting