An Analysis of ODA Allocation of Basic Education Sector

Abstract

The focus of this study is on the allocation of Official Development Assistance (ODA) with particular reference of education sector. Since year 2000, there were several ambitious attempts to improve educational level of every country as a core indicator of human development such as MDG 2 by UN and EFA by UNESCO and related organizations.

And after a decade passed, there is a controversy on assessing the achievements of aid. One argues the useless impact of aid and the other side provides successful case to show the positive effect of it. Regardless of this counter analysis, all agree on the importance of aid effectiveness and it becomes one of the key issues in the field of development.

Besides glamorous rhetoric over the aid effectiveness, many empirical analyses suggest aim-driven aid i.e. targeting of aid to maximize the effect of the aid to reduce poverty and development. This study also examines the issue of targeting of aid, especially the Official Development Assistance (ODA) of OECD DAC countries. Through empirical analysis, it reveals the correlation of donors education aid allocation with the educational condition of recipient countries in order to investigate whether the need of the recipient becomes the determinant of aid allocation.

Unlike other earlier studies on aid allocation by education sector, this study considers more indicators which reflect the educational need of the recipient by including completion rate, literacy rate and ratio of girls to boys besides school enrollment rate. Those indicators all together show the educational need of recipients, and it should be one of the most important variables to be considered for education aid allocation.