Capacity Building, Institutional Crisis,
& the Issue of Recurrent Costs


By Christopher Gunnarsson
February 2001
Almqvist & Wiksell
ISBN: 91-22-01919-7
69 pages, illustrated
$25.00 paperback


This study synthesizes reports and discussions from an investigation of aid financed capacity building. It argues that the traditional cost-sharing between the aid agency, covering investment costs, and the recipient country, covering recurrent costs, often is counter-productive. It argues why all decisions on individual projects must be taken in the context of an overall development strategy and with a long-term perspective. The study also looks into the various incentive structures. It does not solve the problem of recurrent cost financing, but does clarify the links between the micro and macro perspectives on a frustrating issue.

African Studies; Economics
Expert Group on Development Issues, 2001:1

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