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Summary This is an introduction to the UNU-WIDER special issue of World Development on aid policy and the macroeconomic management of aid. We provide an overview of the 10 studies, grouping them under three sub-themes: the aid–growth relationship; the supply-side of aid (including its level, volatility, and coordination of donors); and the macroeconomic framework around aid. The studies in the special issue demonstrate the centrality of research methodology, the importance of disaggregation, and the need to account for country-specific situations and problems. This introduction concludes that the sometimes “over heated” debate on aid needs redirecting toward more rigorous analysis, in which the advantages—and disadvantages—of using aid for development can be evaluated in a calmer manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent literature in the meta-analysis category where results from a range of studies are brought together throws doubt on the ability of foreign aid to foster economic growth and development. This article assesses what meta-analysis has to contribute to the literature on the effectiveness of foreign aid in terms of growth impact. We re-examine key hypotheses, and find that the effect of aid on growth is positive and statistically significant. This significant effect is genuine, and not an artefact of publication selection. We also show why our results differ from those published elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A recent study of 36 sub-Saharan African countries found a positive impact of aid in the majority of these countries. However, for Tanzania and Ghana, two major aid recipients, aid did not seem to have been equally beneficial. This study singles out these two countries for a more detailed empirical investigation. The focus is on the effect of aid when allowing external and nominal factors to play a role in the macroeconomic transmission mechanism. We conclude that when monetary and external factors are properly accounted for, then aid has been pivotal to growth in both real GDP and investment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Summary This study provides a replication of the empirical results reported by Nowak-Lehmann, Dreher, Herzer, Klasen, and Martínez-Zarzoso (2012) (henceforth NDHKM). We uncover that NDHKM relied on a regression model which included a log transformation of variables that are not strictly positive. This led to nonrandom omission of a large proportion of observations. Furthermore, we show that NDHKM’s use of co-integrated regressions is not a suitable empirical strategy for estimating the causal effect of aid on income. Evidence from a Panel VAR model estimated on the dataset of NDHKM, suggests a positive and statistically significant long-run effect of aid on income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary This paper confirms recent evidence of a positive impact of aid on growth and widens the scope of evaluation to a range of outcomes including proximate sources of growth (e.g., physical and human capital), indicators of social welfare (e.g., poverty and infant mortality), and measures of economic transformation (e.g., share of agriculture and industry in value added). Focusing on long-run cumulative effects of aid in developing countries, and taking due account of potential endogeneity, a coherent and favorable pattern of results emerges. Aid has over the past 40 years stimulated growth, promoted structural change, improved social indicators, and reduced poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the dual objectives of the Clean Development Mechanism ( CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol is to assist host countries in achieving sustainable development. With various CDM indicators for 58 CDM host countries over the period 2005-2010, this paper empirically assesses whether CDM project development fulfils its sustainable development objective. Using a unique dynamic panel data method based on the long-differenced model, this research provides convincing evidence that CDM projects contribute to sustainable development in host countries. It sheds light on the role of the CDM in the process of global sustainability with clear policy implications for developing countries and those embracing market instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]