Foreign Aid Transaction Costs: What are they and when are they minimised?

'Transaction costs' are commonly referred to in the recent literature on aid effectiveness. Aid transaction costs, however, have been neither consistently defined nor measured. This article defines aid transaction costs as all the economic costs associated with aid management that add no value to aid delivery. This enables the 'net' transaction costs that should be minimised to be identified. An analytical framework is then developed for assessing these costs. This allows the effectiveness of different aid modalities to be compared, according to the characteristics of the aid transaction. The article shows that the choice of aid modality should depend on these characteristics and, therefore, that the minimisation of transaction costs should not be an end in itself.Peer reviewe

Poverty reduction strategy papers and the fisheries sector: an opportunity forgone?

This article examines the extent to which the fisheries sector has been mainstreamed into the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) published by fifty nations by the end of 2003. Applying content analysis techniques we find that there is little overt relationship between the extent of such mainstreaming and the significance of the sector (as either a contributor to food security, a generator of foreign exchange, a provider of employment or as a refuge of the poor). Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Reducing poverty through fisheries co-management: an analysis of design and intentions in Uganda

Reducing poverty is the overarching policy objective in developing countries and so policies in all sectors are required to show how they will contribute to poverty reduction-fisheries included. Fisheries co-management in Uganda has been designed to contribute to poverty reduction through development of an enabling policy framework; improving governance at community and lake wide levels; empowering marginalised stakeholders; and, improving benefits for women and the poor. Challenges for the realisation of poverty-reduction objectives include financing implementation in a donor-dependent environment; changing attitudes and securing commitment of local government officials and communities; and, ensuring that empowerment of the 'marginalised' is effective. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.