On Aid and Growth: Reflections Ahead of Busan
UNU-WIDER Angle 10/2011
Posted: 14 Dec 2014
Date Written: October 1, 2011
Abstract
This is the first in a series of articles that Angle will be running before and after the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, organized by the Republic of Korea and the OECD (29 November to 1 December 2011). These articles include some of the results now emerging from UNU-WIDER’s Research and Communication (ReCom) Programme sponsored by the governments of Denmark and Sweden.
Not a month goes by without some sort of bad news about foreign aid. Examples of incompetence, abuse of funds by corrupt leaders, and distorted incentives abound. These stories fuel a deep scepticism of foreign aid. In this view, perverse effects dominate — and end up weakening, rather than encouraging, growth and development. If one accepts this view, then it is logical to turn off the poisoned tap of foreign aid. But are such views well founded?
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