The proposed doubling of aid to Africa by 2010 is a less simple proposition, from a recipient point of view, than is commonly supposed. This article argues that it is difficult to manage large and rapidly increasing aid inflows in ways which do not disadvantage producers of tradeable goods, and...

This note derives minimum appraisal criteria for foreign aid consistent with those used by donor governments for domestic spending, and discusses implications for the level, allocation and financing of aid programmes. One finding is that aid is only welfare-enhancing when the recipient country's...

The present paper critically examines how aid dependent low-income countries have approached the process of public expenditure management reform during the 1990s. It begins with an overview of broader public sector reform initiatives in LDCs which provide the backdrop against which expenditure...

Working Paper 11 gives a synthesis of Working Papers 7, 9 and 10 (see the relevant Summaries for further details). It also provides a brief synthesis of earlier literature on the fiscal effects of aid, which is related to the wider literature on the development impact of aid and on budget...

ESAU Working Paper 8 presents evidence from sample surveys, conducted among beneficiary households in Limpopo and KwaZulu Natal provinces, of the effectiveness of public works programmes in solving the problems of unemployment and poverty in South Africa. The programmes are implemented under the...

Working Paper 9 forms part of a set of four ESAU papers on the fiscal effects of aid in African countries. The others are on Malawi (Working Paper 7), on Zambia (Working Paper 10) and a literature Survey and Synthesis (Working Paper 11). The first, historical and analytical background, part of...

This paper investigates whether South Africa’s tax incentives have been effective in generating additional manufacturing investment (both local and foreign direct investment). South Africa’s investment incentive regime compares favourably with international best practice. However, the...