The Impact of Aid on Economic Growth in Transition Economies: An Empirical Study

This paper assesses econometrically the contribution of aid to output growth in a panel of twenty transition countries over nine years (1989-1997). The study finds a positive and statistically significant relationship between foreign aid and growth. A second result is that the positive effect of aid seems to be stronger when associated with economic liberalisation. The above findings are important, particularly in light of recent scepticism on the role of aid on developing country economic growth and the recent declining trend in aid commitments from industrialized countries.