British Official Development Assistance (ODA) and the 2008 Financial Crisis: a Noteworthy Commitment or a Self-interested Strategy?

In the wake of the financial crisis, which started in the United States in 2007 and given the problems that developed countries had to face internally, Official Development Assistance (ODA) was expected to be negatively affected. However, in 2010, net ODA was actually 63% above its 2000 level. So we can wonder if development aid has proven to be one of the few areas which resisted the onslaught of the crisis. The paper will focus on the case of British assistance in recent times. It is indeed both interesting and relevant to pay special attention to the British example due to its colonial history; Britain has always stood out when it came to development aid and has displayed a much more extended vision of aid than what is strictly required by the United Nations (UN) or World Bank standards. British ODA has actually steadily increased since 2007. So far, the United Kingdom (UK) has clearly shown a solid attachment to development and is amongst the few advanced economies that fulfil the target of allocating 0.7 percent of their Gross National Income to ODA. Given the motivations of the British government in its commitment to aid, it is argued that Britain is likely to continue its good performance as a provider of ODA.