This note deals with a paradox: A literature growing exponentially in spite of the fact that it keeps finding the same result. We draw upon the findings of 106 empirical studies, of which 32 appeared in the last 4 years, to examine whether development aid generates economic growth. The studies...

The AEL consists of empirical macro studies of the effects of development aid. At the end of 2004 it had reached 97 studies of three families, which we have summarized in one study each using meta-analysis. Studies of the effect on investments show that they rise by 1/3 of the aid - the rest is...

The AEL (aid effectiveness literature) studies the effect of development aid using econometrics on macro data. It contains about 100 papers of which a third analyzes conditional models where aid effectiveness depends upon z, so that aid only works for a certain range of the variable. The key...

The AEL (aid effectiveness literature) is econometric studies of the macroeconomic effects of development aid. It contains about 100 papers of which 68 are reduced form estimates of the effect of aid on growth in the recipient country. The raw data show that growth is unconnected to aid, but the...