Kenya
Running head: Implications of Official Development Assistance
The Implications of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for Developing Nations: A Case Study of Kenya
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Introduction to the Research Problem The effectiveness of official development assistance (ODA) in the facilitation of economic growth and development in developing nations has been questioned all around the world. This is especially so because quite a number of developing nations which have been regular recipients of ODA have remained poor (Bloom and Sachs, 1998). As such, concerns have been raised that ODA is not at all effective in especially alleviating poverty and fastracking growth, and as such it ought to be stopped and other forms of developmental approaches pursued by developing nations. For if indeed ODA was effective in achieving its intended purpose of facilitating economic development in these nations, then all them would long have shed off the poverty tag and achieved significant growth, perhaps not only economically but also politically. Studies undertaken in a number of developing nations, especially with regard to measuring these countries’ GDP growth per annum relative to that of developed nations, show that developing nations still lag behind with a significant proportion of their citizens living below the poverty line (less than one US dollar per day) (Easterly, 2003). Kenya is one such developing nation where poverty remains rampant and GDP growth is so low that it has been difficult to achieve any worthwhile and sustainable economic growth (IMF, 2012). The country has a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.509, making 143rd out of 185. This means that Kenya is one of the poorest nations in the world (United Nations, 2011). Half the Kenyan population lives in absolute poverty. As per
The Implications of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for Developing Nations: A Case Study of Kenya
Name of Student:
Institution:
Name of Professor:
Date of Submission:
Type of Research Design:
Assignment Name and Number:
Introduction to the Research Problem The effectiveness of official development assistance (ODA) in the facilitation of economic growth and development in developing nations has been questioned all around the world. This is especially so because quite a number of developing nations which have been regular recipients of ODA have remained poor (Bloom and Sachs, 1998). As such, concerns have been raised that ODA is not at all effective in especially alleviating poverty and fastracking growth, and as such it ought to be stopped and other forms of developmental approaches pursued by developing nations. For if indeed ODA was effective in achieving its intended purpose of facilitating economic development in these nations, then all them would long have shed off the poverty tag and achieved significant growth, perhaps not only economically but also politically. Studies undertaken in a number of developing nations, especially with regard to measuring these countries’ GDP growth per annum relative to that of developed nations, show that developing nations still lag behind with a significant proportion of their citizens living below the poverty line (less than one US dollar per day) (Easterly, 2003). Kenya is one such developing nation where poverty remains rampant and GDP growth is so low that it has been difficult to achieve any worthwhile and sustainable economic growth (IMF, 2012). The country has a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.509, making 143rd out of 185. This means that Kenya is one of the poorest nations in the world (United Nations, 2011). Half the Kenyan population lives in absolute poverty. As per
References: Beynon, J. (2001). Policy Implications for Aid Allocations of Recent Research on Aid Effectiveness and Selectivity Birdsall, N., S. Claessens and I. Diwan (2004). “Policy Selectivity Forgone: Debt and Donor Behaviour in Africa” in T Bloom, D., and J. Sachs. (1998). Geography, Demography, and Economic Growth in Africa. Burnside, C. and D. Dollar (2000). Aid, Policies, and Growth. American Economic Review, Vol.90, No.4, pp.847-868. Durbarry, R. (1998). New Evidence on the Impact of Foreign Aid on Economic Growth. Easterly, W. (2003). New Data, New Doubts: Revisiting ‘Aid, Policies and Growth’. CGD Working Paper No Hansen, H. and F. Tarp (2000). Aid Effectiveness Disputed. Journal of International Development, Vol.12, pp.375-398. IMF (2012). "Kenya". International Monetary Fund. Kosack, S. (2003). Effective Aid: How Democracy Allows Development Aid to Improve the Quality of Life Nunn, N. (2004). Slavery, Institutional Development, and Long-Run Growth in Africa, 1400- 2000 Ram, R. (2004). Recipient Country’s ‘Policies’ and the Effect of Foreign Aid on Economic Growth in Developing Countries: Additional Evidence Roodman, D. (2003). The Anarchy of Numbers: Aid, Development and Cross-country Empirics. United Nations (2011). "Human Development Report 2011." World Bank (1998)