Applying analytic methods to problems of development assistance.

Expert InsightsPublished 1966

An exploration of several hazards in allocating development assistance funds, such as distortions in the infrastructure or economy of the recipient country, causing inefficient use of resources, and failure to identify the critical investment level for success of assistance projects. Examples of such problems are given. Although analytic techniques can often be useful to the decisionmaker, it will still be difficult to formulate criteria, collect or derive data, and identify resource costs because of the innate complexities of the development assistance problem. The paper describes various approaches used by others and shows how systems analysis and cost-benefit methods used in business and in solving defense problems can be adapted for development aid. It also suggests that methods adapted from economic analysis can be used for testing criteria for validity and for identifying the scarce resources that should be the basis for costing.

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Applying analytic methods to problems of development assistance. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1966. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P3384.html.
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