Journal Article
Trends in the Volume and Allocation of Official Flows from Donor Countries

This paper documents trends in official flows to developing countries over the last three decades. The most striking trend has been declining aid volume. Following two decades of relative stability, official flows have declined in the 1990s. A second trend is the decline in aid to low-income countries, partly as aid flows are diverted to transition economies and “trouble spots.” As a result of these trends, real aid per capita to sub-Saharan Africa fell by 40% in the 1990s. Continuing an existing trend, multilateral agencies account for a growing share of total aid, in part as a result of the expansion of EU aid.