Foreign Aid Bad, Foreign Aid Good

Published March 26, 2009 @ 10:14AM PT

Does foreign aid do more harm than good? So contends Dambisa Moyo in her new book Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working And How There Is a Better Way for Africa.

Perhaps not surprising, her book has set off something of a development-rumble, with critics flinging accusations back and forth. (Or at least back.)

According to Moyo, foreign aid isn't the solution, but instead the problem:

"Yet evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that aid to Africa has made the poor poorer, and the growth slower. The insidious aid culture has left African countries more debt-laden, more inflation-prone, more vulnerable to the vagaries of the currency markets and more unattractive to higher-quality investment. It's increased the risk of civil conflict and unrest (the fact that over 60% of sub-Saharan Africa's population is under the age of 24 with few economic prospects is a cause for worry). Aid is an unmitigated political, economic and humanitarian disaster."

David Roodman, from the Center for Global Development, has some rather harsh words in response:

"The book is sporadically footnoted, selective in its use of facts, sloppy, simplistic, illogical, and stunningly naive."

For a more complete round-up of reviews, please see this excellent post on Chris Blattman's blog.

As John Boonstra points out on UN Dispatch, Moyo's ideas are gaining some traction in DC, as Congress considers reforming US foreign assistance.

I'm more sympathetic to Roodman than to Moyo, but then again I'm biased. For anyone who wants a rather astringent look at aid's various failings and fallacies, I highly recommend William Easterly's blog Aid Watch.

[Image from the Wall Street Journal]

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Author

Michael has worked for NGOs in Afghanistan, across east and central Africa, and Iraq. Prior to going overseas, he worked on a project providing assistance to the United Nations on the application of International Humanitarian Law to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.