Does foreign aid help donor countries more than the recipients?

The significance of foreign aid by donors to the receiving countries has been in constant criticism. Scholars such as Smith (2014), has stated that foreign aid can be used both as a political and as an economic tool. Dietrich (2013) reported that as donors supply the aid to the recipients, they focus on the markets for their products as well as resources that they can exploit. According to Bermeo (2011), many donor countries often use the foreign aids as tactics of improving their image on the global platform while their intentions remain obscure. Tierney et al. (2011), note that some countries like the U.S. use foreign aid to secure its borders from infiltrating refugees. This means that foreign aid can be used to alienate poor individuals from immigrating into donor countries. Dietrich (2013) also adds that the foreign aid can be used by the donors to show concern for poor countries.

Smith (2014) acknowledges the economic significance of foreign aid; nonetheless, the author argues that donors often affect the economy of the recipients. By supplying foreign aid to other countries, donors may find a way of exporting some of their finished products into the poor countries. Dietrich (2013) contends that this affects the economy of the poor countries by suppressing their skills in producing their products.

Furthermore, Bermeo (2011) postulates that foreign aid can give the donor country the power to control the recipient. There are claims that the donor countries providing foreign aid can impose religious and political views on poor countries. The phenomenon can weaken the economy and the political power of such countries leading to collapse in governance and economy. Due to the unprecedented criticisms linked to foreign aid, there is connotation in allowing independent organisations such as the United Nations to supply any form of foreign aid.