An Overview of Recent Trends in Official Development Assistance: Contradictory New Directions in the Relationship between DAC Donors and China

McQuinn, Mark

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the interrelated issues affecting official development assistance (ODA) and situates a discussion of future trajectories for Development Assistance Committee (DAC)-China aid relations within these complex strands. It argues that, while significant shifts in the form of DAC aid are inevitable, the direction of these changes is far from clear. The chapter provides the major elements of the DAC’s High-Level For aid paradigm, as they provide the framework for traditional ODA, which is facing intense pressure to change. It discusses literature focusing on the gap between the rhetoric and reality of provision; analyses advocating politically rooted solutions to aid failure; and the neoliberal critique, arguing that ODA should be stopped and replaced by a market-led development trajectory. The examples of harmonization and ownership illustrate the significant size of the gap between the rhetoric of DAC principles and the reality of aid provision.

Citation

McQuinn, M. (2019). An Overview of Recent Trends in Official Development Assistance: Contradictory New Directions in the Relationship between DAC Donors and China. In Y. Zheng, & J. Qian (Eds.), Development and Poverty Reduction: A Global Comparative Perspective. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429292125-5

• Online Publication Date: Oct 28, 2019
• Publication Date: Nov 7, 2019
• Deposit Date: Dec 6, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 6, 2019
• Publisher: Routledge
• Series Title: China Policy Series
• Book Title: Development and Poverty Reduction: A Global Comparative Perspective
• ISBN: 9780429292125
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429292125-5
• Related Public URLs: https://www.routledge.com/Development-and-Poverty-Reduction-A-Global-Comparative-Perspective/Zheng-Qian/p/book/9780367262297