Title: Foreign Aid Modality: Budget Support versus Project Aid
Comments on 3rd revision handed in on 19th january.
This is a good proposal. You have made substantial improvements. It is accepted for presentation SUBJECT to minor revisions suggested below -- note that you do not have to get it approved by me, just make the revisions and submit it to Tauqir -- he will schedule it for presentation at faculty seminar.
1: You should try to read up on STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING. This is very suited to what you are doing, and is a different type of statistical analysis. If you can use it, it will improve your research methodology by a lot.
2: Other comments:
In an early paragraph you say that project aid is considered an ineffective modality, and in the next paragraph you say that budget support has been accepted as an effective modality.
You are taking a stand here, which is not a good idea in research. You have already decided that project aid is ineffective. Then there is no need for research.
When you say “is considered” the question is BY WHOM? there are many authors who consider project aid to be better, as you yourself say.
Each of the points that you list as disadvantages can also be considered as ADVANTAGES. When the government is inefficient and corrupt, as in Pakistan, giving it money is sure to be wasted –eaten up without anything to show for it on the ground. As opposed to this, a donor designed project is at least going to achieve some concrete output and results. Second: when the government is NOT producing good results on development front, then it is useful for donors to have MIS-ALIGNED policies. Perhaps they can be more effective than the government in setting priorities. THIRD, fungibility is useful for corrupt officials, they can sideline funds for personal benefits rather than use them on targeted projects. etc.
ACTION: Take para 2 & 3 and compress and merge them into ONE para, saying that there is a debate about effectiveness of project aid versus budget support, list one or two points on each side, and say that you plan to study the issue in you research.
Additionally it would be useful if a summary of the data could be introduced -- how much aid have we received, and what proportion has been project aid. This will establish how important or relevant the problem is. However this should be brief -- no more than one paragraph discussing the salient facts.
Comments on the revised proposal.
A proposal should be no more than ten pages. The STUDENT GUIDE explain how the INTRO should be written in two pages. The goal of the proposal is to explain what research is planned, How it contributes to the literature, and Why it is important. These three points, plus some explanations about methodology, if required, should not take more than 10 pages to explain. Your proposal is too voluminous and covers lots of unnecessary and irrelevant stuff. I have discussed your proposal in detail with Dr. Janjua and you can get further feedback from him.
Budget Support Vs. Project Aid: Choosing an Effective Aid Modality for Pakistan Economic Growth and Development
MS Research Proposal Submitted by : Muhammad Usman 1544-SE/MS(eco)/S08
Supervisor: Dr Pervez Zamurrad Janua Co-Supervisor: Mr Malik Muhammad
10/13/2011
COMMENTS: You have done hard work, and read relevant literature, and done some good analysis. There is substance in this research proposal, and it can be made acceptable for presentation by re-writing it properly.
For a short note on how to write the introduction, see [link]
Note that a research proposal SHOULD NOT contain arguments for one position against the other.
On the one hand, you state that your proposal is about finding out which modality is effective. On the other hand, you state and argue forcefully that budget support is superior. These two positions are not compatible. If you start out by assuming that budget support is superior, then your research cannot be about this, but about something which is based on this assumption. If on the other hand, this is the topic of your research, then the proposal should be open minded, saying that authors X Y Z are in favor of budget supports, V and W think project aid is better, and Q R S say that under certain conditions one is better while under other conditions the other is better.
PLEASE REVISE INTRO according to the instructions. You can talk to me about other issues that are problems in this proposal.