Food aid has been a key element of post-World War II agricultural development and trade policy for major donors like the United States. A common argument heard in Washington is that food aid creates 'win-win' opportunities by stimulating agricultural development and thus income growth in poor, agrarian nations, thereby creating markets for future commercial exports by U.S. food producers. Win-win results are certainly feasible in theory, but, in practice, has food aid been successful at either assisting recipient country agricultural development or fostering donor country commercial food exports to recipients? This article offers some new insights on that central question on the basis of recent empirical findings. This article focuses primarily on U.S. food aid flows provided through the Food for Peace Program, commonly known as PL480, and especially on U.S. program food aid flows through Titles I and III of PL480. Since the passage of PL480 in 1954, the more than 313 (252) million metric tons of U.S. (program) food aid has accounted for roughly 64% (52%) of total worldwide food aid flows. PL480 program flows have dominanted global food aid over the past 40 years.
