Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-100). / Recent studies have shown that Official Development Assistance (ODA) is able to contribute to poverty reduction through the Public Expenditure Management (PEM) system. The International Financial Institutions (IFIs) have also been channelling ODA in the form of budget support under the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs). While implementing PRSPs, Zambia, a poor country, showed remarkable improvement in the economic and social sectors. Whether it was ODA channelled for pro-poor expenditure or economic growth that was responsible for these improvements or both could only be ascertained by empirical research. To study this research problem, this undertaking used a quantitative research design. Data on Zambia's requests for ODA were collected from the Zambian national budget and official Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the period 1990 to 2008. Statistics on ODA received were obtained from the OECD.stat database, in order to find out the extent to which ODA receipts were a part of Zambia's public expenditure. Public expenditure was then correlated with the IMR, and numerically compared with the HDI and poverty headcount. The research produced a number of key findings. For nine of the fifteen years examined, Zambia received an average of 260.57 per cent of all ODA it requested. There was evidence that the association between pro-poor expenditure and IMR was strong. The HDI and poverty head count improved but the study was inconclusive on whether this was as a result of increased pro-poor expenditure or not. The PEM system was argued to be a vital factor for ODA to reach the poor. Overall, there was strong indication that ODA contributed to poverty reduction through pro-poor public expenditure in Zambia. It was therefore recommended that both donors and the Zambian government ensure that all ODA was targeted at primary and secondary education, primary health care, rural roads, and agricultural extension services.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uct/oai:localhost:11427/8950 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Muyeba, Singumbe |
| Contributors | Lincoln, David |
| Publisher | University of Cape Town, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Social Development |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Master Thesis, Masters, MPhil |
| Format | application/pdf |
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