Disbursement refers to the release of funds to, or the purchase of goods or services for a recipient, by extension, the amount thus spent. Disbursements record the actual international transfer of financial resources, or of goods and services valued at the cost to the donor. In the case of activities carried out in donor countries, such as training, administration or public awareness programmes, disbursement is taken to have occurred when the funds have been transferred to the service provider or the recipient. In addition to financial flows, technical cooperation is included in aid. Grants, loans and credits for military purposes are excluded.
Economic development refers to funding for all other purposes.
Thus, this represents a Response indicator in the DSR Framework. Discrepancies may occur between figures reported by donors and by recipients. They available for non-DAC countries by a recipient government agency responsible for aid coordination. The DAC Secretariat and national aid coordination agencies are the primary sources of data for this indicator. See Glossary of Key Terms and Concepts, p. 113-117.