It was once unthinkable that international aid would be so intensely scrutinized as it is today. But academics and observers have concluded that the very problems and ills international aid was supposed to cure still exist, despite the billions that have been poured into countries. This author, long active in the field, suggests that there are a series of best practices that, when followed, will enable managers in the field to get the results that will make a difference
There is a shadow currently hanging over the field of international aid. Some writers who have attracted a great deal of attention claim that foreign aid has been a waste of money and has even done more harm than good. Dambisa Moyo (Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How There is a Better Way for Africa, Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2009) claims that aid to Africa has only increased poverty, deepened dependence upon the West, and institutionalized corruption in government. A few years earlier, William Easterly (The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good, Penguin Press, New York 2006) argued that a vast amount of money has been spent on foreign aid, especially in Africa, and that national growth rates have not increased as a result of the aid.
What works: Best Practices
(d) There are several other very helpful indicators of development potential, as follows. They are well known and don’t require further explanations like the above factors, and include:
Reprint from Ivey Business Journal
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