Ownership and partnership : does the new rhetoric solve the incentive problems in aid?
The more recent accentuation of concepts such as “national ownership” and “partnership” among development agencies reflects a concern for bringing in a new dynamic in the way donors and recipients of aid relate. There is causal link between the effectiveness of aid and the way it is delivered. The nature of the aid relationship matters. In this paper we shall examine the two concepts more carefully and discuss whether this new rhetoric addresses two of the main incentive problems in aid relationships, namely the pressure to give and the lack of results orientation.