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Foreign aid and international development frequently bring with it a range of unintended consequences, both negative and positive. This book delves into these consequences, providing a fresh and comprehensive guide to understanding and addressing them.
The book starts by laying out a theoretical framework based on complexity thinking, before going on to explore the ten most prevalent kinds of unintended effects of foreign aid: backlash effects, conflict effects, migration and resettlement effects, price effects, marginalization effects, behavioural effects, negative spillover effects, governance effects, environmental effects, and ripple effects. Each chapter revolves around a set of concrete case studies, analysing the mechanisms underpinning the unintended effects and proposing ways in which policymakers, practitioners, and evaluators can tackle negative side effects and maximize positive side effects. The book also includes personal testimonies, a succinct overview of unintended effects, and suggestions for further reading.
Providing a clear overview of what side effects to anticipate when planning, executing, and evaluating aid, this book will be an important resource for students, development practitioners, and policymakers alike.
List of contents
1. Introduction: understanding the unintended consequences of international development 2. For those who love theory: explaining unintended effects with complexity theory and bounded policy learning 3. Backlash effects: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction 4. Conflict effects: fighting over and with aid 5. Migration and resettlement effects: aid-induced displacement 6. Price effects: when aid drives prices up (or down) 7. Marginalization effects: can aid unintentionally increase inequality? 8. Behavioural effects: expect the unexpected! 9. Negative spillover effects: look beyond your own targets 10. Governance effects: international development and the social contract, uneasy bedfellows 11. Environmental effects: uneasy trade-offs between ecology and development 12. Ripple effects: the underestimation of positive effects of international development efforts 13. Conclusion: ‘It’s the complexity, stupid’
About the author
Dirk-Jan Koch is Chief Science Officer of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is Special Professor of International Trade & Development Cooperation at Radboud University, the Netherlands. Views expressed in this book do not represent the official views of these institutions.
Summary
Foreign aid and international development frequently bring with it a range of unintended consequences. Providing a clear overview of what side effects to anticipate when planning, executing, and evaluating aid, this book will be an important resource for students, development practitioners, and policymakers alike.
