ABSTRACT
Since 1980, overseas aid has transformed itself. Although seeking to perform the same purpose as in the early 1970s-the promotion of economic development, with an emphasis on poverty reduction, and with broadly the same resources (about $50 billion in 1998 prices)—it now uses different instruments to achieve that purpose. As illustrated by Table 5.1, the project aid component of aid budgets has declined severely from the early 1970s (sometimes to the point of collapse) and other aid instruments have expanded to fill the vacuum, notably technical co-operation, policy-conditioned programme aid, support for the private sector and for NGOS and emergency assistance.
