The problem of the proliferation of aid donors and channels continues to worsen. It undermines the
value of aid. We contribute to the existing literature by (a) categorising the apparent adverse effects of
proliferation; (b) producing a reliable and fair indicator of the extent to which the main bilateral donors
proliferate or concentrate their aid; (c) explaining why some donors proliferate more than others;
(d) constructing a reliable measure of the extent to which recipients suffer from the problem of
fragmentation in the sourcing of their aid; and (e) demonstrating that the worst proliferators among the aid
donors are especially likely to be suppliers of aid to recipients suffering most from fragmentation. There are
significant implications for aid policy.
