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Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth

Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth

Analysing Donors' Aid Statistics

Claiming that its definition of Official Development Assistance (ODA) has remained unchanged, the OECD concedes changes in interpretation ‘broadening’ the concept's scope. Breaks in continuity, inconsistencies in recording, items openly doubted to be ODA by official OECD publications, and occasionally even expenditures officially declared not to satisfy the OECD's own criteria have boosted ODA volumes considerably. In 1994 this boost was nearly 50% of the figure achieved if the OECD's own original criteria had been applied, as calculations using OECD sources show. Shares of 'broadened' ODA roughly doubled between 1989 and 1994 - a disturbing trend concealing decreases of real aid to development. Critical minds might point out that broadening took off precisely during the three years, when official data held ODA percentages constant at 0.33, a result strengthening the assertion that aid was not shifted from the South to Eastern Europe. This must have been enormously helpful in the political debate but raises questions about the relaibility of DAC statistics.