E-Prints Complutense

Abstract

The geographical allocation of Spanish aid has been little studied, despite the fact that it is unusually concentrated on middle-income countries. This paper sets out a model of Spanish ODA policy based on a mixture of recipient needs, donor interests and effectiveness considerations. Moreover it analyses both the aid-partner selection process and the eventual aid-quota allocation. The results show that Spain has followed an eclectic pattern of aid allocation, involving recipient needs, but where self-interest predominates and performance criteria are absent. The apparently insufficient progressiveness of the Spanish allocation is due mainly to the influence of the post-colonial links –although these links have characterized the geographical specialization of all donor countries that were once colonial metropolises.