Foreign Aid and Economic Development

Extrait de l'intro :

"In 2000, the United Nations adopted the eight Millennium Development Goals which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV and providing universal primary education, all by 2015. At the midway point between their adoption and the 2015 target date, the UN admits that it is not on track to achieve any of the Goals . This is just one example of a long list of well-meaning but failed plans to end poverty and push development of the World’s poorest countries. Since 1945, the West has spent .3 trillion on foreign aid and still has not managed to put poor countries on the path to development . Foreign aid should be distinguished from emergency relief such as medical supplies, food, water and other items that might be supplied in the event of a disaster. Foreign aid developed in the 1950s based on the belief that an aid-financed Big Push would enable the poorest countries to get out of the poverty trap. The Big Push was supposed to cause a takeoff into self-sustained growth, and then aid would no longer be needed. Half a century and .3 trillion later, there has been little (if any) evidence that massive aid could stimulate growth. Yet, aid agencies keep pouring resources into this objective without really questioning effectiveness. As Easterly notes, they even escalate the scope of their intervention when previous fails. This paper examines why foreign aid failed at creating growth in developing countries over the last half century. It establishes that foreign aid should concentrate on relieving suffering and encouraging institutional reforms instead of getting stuck on the infeasible objective of “developing” poor countries."