ABSTRACT
This chapter examines trends and terms of Official development assistance (ODA) flows and looks in general terms at the pros and cons of import support and the type of conditionality to which it appears to be giving rise. Flows of ODA grew at 12.6 percent between 1970 and 1982 but since non-concessional finance grew much more rapidly, the relative importance of ODA flows in the total external financing of Third World countries declined from 42 percent to 37 percent during that time. The assault on multilateral aid and the uncertainty surrounding the medium-term flows of aid are of particular significance to the least developed countries which are most highly dependent upon aid. Even more important than putting pressure on total aid flows, the current economic crisis has had the effect of making donor countries more sensitive than usual about the trade generating benefits of aid.
