Introduction

The effectiveness of aid – that is, the importance of its contribution to the implementation of the economic policy of recipient countries – does not only depend on the fact that it targets good goals, but also on the manner in which it is channeled – that is, placed at the disposal of beneficiaries. Improving the effectiveness of aid is one of the domains where donors have deployed the greatest efforts, at least in terms of commitments aimed at changing their practices in recent years. Thus, whether in academic milieus or aid-providing international financial organizations, reflecting on conditions of effectiveness of foreign aid has developed considerably. In academic milieus, this discussion has developed mainly in two directions. The first has chosen recipient countries as the subject of the investigation, and as such, seeks to give an account of the conditions in which the political and institutional environment of these countries could be explanatory factors of the effectiveness of aid. It is in this perspective that research by two World Bank economists, David Dollar and Aart Kray, who proved the importance of institutions and policies pursued by recipient countries for the effectiveness of aid, is situated.