ABSTRACT
In a recent book, Bøås and McNeill have argued that trends in development policy, to a large extent, are the consequence of the successful ‘framing’ of policy analyses and policy recommendations. As they put it, ‘[a]n effective “frame” is one which makes favoured ideas seem like common sense, and unfavoured ideas appear unthinkable’ (Bøås and McNeill 2004: 220-1). Ideas related to governance quality and selectivity have been the result of framing exercises in the development discourse that took place during the 1990s. This chapter discusses the paradigm shift in development assistance policies that resulted from the reframing of the development discourse that dominated previously.
