CIAO DATE: 04/06

Tendencias y patrones de la cooperación internacional para el desarrollo económico

Abstract

This paper provides a literature review and explores the evolution of official development aid (ODA) in the past decade. The main empirical puzzles that guide this research are: how has foreign development aid or ODA evolved historically within the broader framework of international cooperation? Who are the main ODA contributors? What countries provide more foreign aid in terms of their gross domestic product? What motivations drive ODA contributions? Which developing countries benefit the most from foreign aid?

The findings of this study reveal that, unsurprisingly, ODA objectives have been distorted by the use of aid for donor commercial and political advantages. Indeed, historically, foreign aid has served a multitude of objectives and only rarely has the allocation and quality of aid flows been shaped by a concern for the development needs of the recipient countries. Hence, countries like Mexico, which lack strategic and political importance vis-À-vis the major ODA contributors, have few options available to attract foreign aid.

Given the current trends, it is likely that in the near-future Mexico will no longer receive foreign aid contributions to support its development strategy. Instead, the country will have to transit from recipient to donor status, which means that government authorities will have to develop a policy to provide foreign aid to smaller and poorer Latin American states.

Full Text (PDF, 41 pages, 394 KB)