English: Some economists such as Peter Bauer and Milton Friedman argued in the 1960s that aid is ineffective. Many econometric studies in recent years have supported the view that development aid has no effect on the speed with which countries develop. Negative side effects of aid can include an unbalanced appreciation of the recipient's currency (known as Dutch Disease), increasing corruption, and adverse political effects such as delays in necessary economic and democratic reforms.

There is also a lot of debate on the form that development aid should take in order to be effective. It has been argued that a lot of government-to-government aid was ineffective because it was merely a way to support strategically important leaders. A good example of this is the former dictator of Zaire, Mobuto Sese Seko, who lost support from the west after the cold war ended. Mobuto, at the time of his death, had sufficient personal fortune (particularly in Swiss banks) to pay off the entire external debt of Zaire. --- linked to the Wikibook

Development Cooperation Handbook