ABSTRACT
Among the most comprehensive studies by structural theorists are those by Jalee (1968), Hayter (1971), Hayter and Watson (1985), Wood (1980 and 1986) and Carty and Smith (1981). Writing from a Marxist-Leninist viewpoint, Jalee sees aid as part of the imperial 'pillage' which has shaped Third World patterns of production to the West's own ends. For Hayter (1985), oda does more harm than good because it is designed, not to alleviate poverty but, to strengthen the capitalist system in developing countries; it is, as such, channelled through authoritarian regimes which are oriented towards the West but uninterested in poverty alleviation. Hayter and Watson (1985) argue that aid helps Third World governments, and the landowning and urban elites which support them, to maintain the process of unequal development and distribution. Wood (1980: 5) develops the concept of the 'international aid regime' (discussed later) in support of his assertion that oda releases recipients from the need to save, fosters state dependence on private international capital and ensures the integration of the state into the capitalist world economy (1980: 6). For Carty and Smith, aid is a fundamental part of the structural problem of underdevelopment.
