THIS IS THE sixth edition of this annual analysis of the aid and development policies of the world’s donor nations. An examination of 1997 trends indicates that international assistance has continued to decline and that donor nations are stronger in offering commitments than in actually producing resources. The editors point to the irony in the situation: at a time when governments increasingly acknowledge that it is possible to end poverty, their aid to the poorest countries is at its lowest level in a decade. During one week in December 1997, donors managed to pledge US$ 57 billion to bail out South Korea, yet they have failed to come up with the additional US$ 20 billion a year considered necessary to lift more than a billion people out of poverty. This year’s edition looks for the first time at the “fair share” of bilateral assistance for basic social services that should come from each country, based on the overall amount calculated as necessary to meet the goal of universal access. Only Sweden and Norway are spending their share of the burden.

The assessment of current trends is followed by a report on each aid donor, prepared in each case by an NGO within the donor country. These reports look at overall performance relative to other donor countries, and this year focus especially on aid to basic education. The following section considers the perspective of a range of Southern countries on development cooperation, again prepared by a national NGO and focusing especially on basic education.

The volume concludes with “at a glance” comparisons of donor performance and commitments for the twenty-first century, and also a reference and resource section. The text is illustrated throughout with clear diagrams and graphs, and with boxes and tables offering further detail.