This study is part of a broader evaluation of donor support to PFM reforms. It draws on data from PEFA assessments in 100 countries, data on donor support to PFM reforms directly collected from some donor agencies and other data that were identified as relevant from previous research.

Some of the main findings of the research were:

• Economic factors are most important in explaining differences in the quality of PFM systems and state fragility has a negative effect.
• Donor PFM support, including direct budget support, was positively and significantly associate with the quality of PFM systems. The impact of donor support varies across different types of reform actions.

The authors noted that the results suffer from a number of serious limitations and challenges indicating that the results needed to be interpreted with caution. They emphasized the importance of additional research focusing on why and how PFM support had an impact, not just on if and when it impacted.