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The Australian Development Gateway (ADG) strives to support members of the development community in their efforts to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development in the Asia Pacific region. The site has been created with participation from members of government, private, academia and non-government organisations. User feedback mechanisms have been incorporated to guide future directions of the site. The site is optimised for low bandwidth access to enable the widest participation throughout the Asia Pacific region.

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Harmonisation & Alignment

Donor coordination and the uses of aid (pdf 133kb)

This paper analyses the ways in which donors work together with aid institutions, and how that affects the way aid is used and its effectiveness.

The paper starts by specifying a simple framework for the discussion, and then reviews the theoretical literature. It then provides data on donor proliferation and discusses how coordination modalities have evolved over time, in particular during the current phase with partnership and ownership.

The following sections summarise the limited empirical evidence available on the impact of coordination on transaction costs and public-sector management and governance.  A key issue with regard to the latter is how donor coordination affects the incentives of the recipient government. The paper concludes with a review of the policy debate and some policy conclusions.

 

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