tends to creep into economists' assessment of foreign aid. In a respectable journal one reads that discipline seems of little use, our theories unrevealing or even irrelevant, and our evidence fragmentary and inadequate [10, Griffin, 1970, p. 313]. Similar statements abound. Their authors appear to regard aid as a political instrument to influence people and they claim that in the realm of political calculus scores need not be measured the way economists like to quantify entries into a balance sheet. One may wonder if the interdisciplinary character of the subject induces regression toward the lowest common platform? Do economists put aside their analytical techniques for the sake of facilitating communication with a larger audience, or do they simply acknowledge the inadequacy of their tool kit? Whatever the reasons, results usually lack the sophistication so characteristic of other branches of international economics, e.g., trade theory and policy. The articles touching upon foreign economic aid in the International encyclopedia of the social sciences [32, 1968] break only partially this execration. By and large, the overly simplistic presentation tends to lag behind the proficiency evident in the treatment of other economic topics elsewhere throughout the volumes. In this review I propose to follow the authors' coverage of the field, assessing exposition and filling gaps. Also, I shall abstract recent developments in the analysis of international grants. At the outset let us note that in the 17 volumes of the Encyclopedia there appear four contributions which discuss at some length foreign economic aid in one context or another. Foreign Aid: Economic Aspects by Gerald M. Meier [32, Vol. V, pp. 521-29] is the broadest in scope. Technical Assistance by Francis X. Sutton [32, Vol. XV, pp. 565-76] delves substantively into a more narrowly defined subject. This article in fact focuses only on the above two pieces. Still, it must be acknowledged that the essay on Social Overhead Capital by Henry J. Bruton [32, Vol. II, pp. 287-89) offers a good balanced exposition of the topic. Further, Community Development [32, Vol. III, pp. 169-73) is treated quite clearly by Irwin T. Sanders as the road toward . . conscious acceleration of economic, technological, and social change [p. 169]. Gerald Meier organizes his essay on the economic aspects of foreign aid under the following sections: evolution of aid programs, objectives and magnitude of aid, forms of aid, use of aid, burden of aid, and need for further research. The choice of these particular subheadings, however, fails as a guide to consistent presentation. The author accumulates a wide range of information and does probe relevant issues; nevertheless, the recurrent overlaps and ill-focused labels result in something like the transcript of a casual fireside chat at the World Affairs Club of Middletown. I agree with the author about 90 percent of the time, but that remaining 10 percent causes considerable concern; truly, what he does not say is more the problem. The evolution of aid programs is traced primarily through the actions of the donor countries after World War II. In the United States the Export-Import Bank of Washington has turned increasingly to development loans, the Marshall Plan supported European recovery,