Updated January 2014 David Roodman, creator of the Commitment to Development Index (CDI), has devised a measure of foreign aid flows that takes into account the interest payments that developing countries make to rich country creditors. The Net Aid Transfers data set, which is a component of the CD...

Are we doing well by doing good? This CGD Note by C. Peter Timmer explores the alliance between US farmers, processors and shippers that forms the political foundation of the US food aid program. The Note outlines the current winners and losers of US food aid, and argues that surprisingly, the reci...

On September 23, 2005 Malawi signed a funding agreement with the MCC under the MCA's Threshold Program. Malawi was only the second threshold country to reach this step, and the first to reach agreement on a proposal that tackles the thorny issues of corruption and financial management. 

This note draws on the MCC's selection process and newly released data to explore which countries are most likely to be selected for FY 2006. The analysis has several highlights. 

In addition to the possible benefits from increased aid, what might also be the downside? From the recent G8 Summit to UN declarations, calls for a "Big Push" in official development assistance by OECD countries are becoming more frequent and pressing. In this working paper, CGD Research Fellow Todd...

The Economist has called the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID) "a model for other rich countries." CGD Senior Program Associate Owen Barder, a former director of information, communications, and knowledge at DFID, provides an insider's account in: Learn more

The international goal for rich countries to devote 0.7% of their national income to development assistance has become a cause célèbre for aid activists and has been accepted in many official quarters as the legitimate target for aid budgets. The origins of the target, however, raise serious questio...