Is food aid a good helper? A global analysis of food aid with particular attention to some developing countries

Abstract

Food aid, as witnessed in the literature, has always been a strongly criticised phenomenon since its emergence in the 1950s, because several related aspects like donors’ interests and its impact on recipient economies have often resulted ambiguous. This dissertation aims at providing both a qualitative and quantitative analysis regarding food aid flows by different perspectives and investigating whether food aid is targeted towards poorest countries. Moreover, the effects of food aid allocation represent a matter of critical importance as well, for instance food aid can significantly affect recipient countries from the economic and socio-political point of view. In conclusion, an important focus is also set on the potential approaches that single donor countries and multilateral organisations may implement in response to the actual food aid scenario. For example, better monitoring processes of food aid programs and the shift toward untied food aid may represent a critical step ahead.