Official Development aid (ODA) is one of the instruments of international development cooperation, dedicated to the promotion of development of the developing countries in the international community. Besides ODA, which is an important external source of income for those countries, inclusion in international trade flows and economic integration is vital for their economic growth. The purpose of this master thesis is to study the relationship between ODA and conclusion of regional trade agreements, more precisely, to study how the conclusion of such agreements affects the scope of ODA. The thesis adds to current literature of ODA, its allocation, motivation of donors and ODA-trade link. The main method used is empirical analysis, using multiple regression, which analyses the scope of ODA on the sample of 48 donors and 182 recipients in the period 1993–2017. Since the field of international development cooperation is divided to members and non-members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), a body within the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the thesis follows the same divide and compares the allocation of both groups of countries. The results have shown that members of DAC use ODA and regional trade agreements as substitutes, while non-members use them complementary. Besides confirming the link between ODA and trade agreements, thesis confirms also that patterns of ODA allocation differs between members and non-members of DAC.
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