William Easterly’s article “Was Development Assistance a Mistake?” (2007) seeks to contribute to an ongoing discussion regarding the efficiency of the foreign aid provided to low-income countries. Easterly is a Professor of Economics at New York University, specializing in economic development. He has held some prestigious posts as an economist and researcher at the World Bank, Journal of Development Economics and Aid Watch, to name but a few. One of his books The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good (2006) won the 2008 Hayek Prize (Easterly, 2016). Obviously, he has long questioned the role and effectiveness of the western aid.
In his article, Easterly provides brief evaluation …show more content…
It is argued that, for instance, the World Bank’s policies and programs were often incompatible with national ideologies of recipient countries, or failed to take into account their effect on the environment or indigenous people (Staples, 2006:31). It is also claimed that “in the aid context, good policies bought by conditional aid are usually ineffective” (Ellerman, 2004:316) since “such aid pushes the external motive of receiving the aid into the motivational foreground establishes external control – the lack of autonomy” (Ellerman, 2004:316). As Easterly (2007) argued in his article, the conditions within the structural adjustment programs were in excess. Motivation is the challenge for the development assistance. There is a fairly strong evidence suggesting that “aid from specific donors promotes economic growth while aid from other donors does not” (Reddy, and Minoiu, 2009:17). In light of this, donors’ credibility, as well as the role and extent of engagement of those at the receiving end should be principle. Equity is another dilemma for the assistance efficiency. As observed, the “trickle-down process is often slow” (Tisch, and Wallace, 1994 p27) and “the gaps between rich and poor can widen considerably” (Tisch, and Wallace, 1994 …show more content…
Consequently, failure to perform as intended should not come as a surprise. Plans, even the best-laid ones, may not survive the first touch (Helmuth von Moltke, cited in The Economist 2011). Development, essentially, is about change and change comes at a price. Foreign aid is also a format of collective action – of humans for humans. And humans, as we know, are not perfect. Evidently, there has been errors and misjudgements in the process, particularly with the chain what (is the development)-who (are the actors)-how (it is implemented and assessed), however not with the concept itself. We might take the same approach and measure, for instance, the conflict resolution or counter-terrorism policies. Should we evaluate them by sheer number of conflicts and terrorist acts happening worldwide? The crucial question to ask might rather be what the world would have been like without all these collective efforts. Despite existing shortcomings and imperfections, it does not appear reasonable to doubt the very essence of the development assistance and ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater’. Supposing that “the top quarter of aid recipients received 17 per cent of their GDP in aid” (Easterly, 2007:329), significant reduction or complete removal of it will leave these countries certainly more vulnerable. Under such circumstances, the solution would be to constantly revise and improve both the
In his article, Easterly provides brief evaluation …show more content…
It is argued that, for instance, the World Bank’s policies and programs were often incompatible with national ideologies of recipient countries, or failed to take into account their effect on the environment or indigenous people (Staples, 2006:31). It is also claimed that “in the aid context, good policies bought by conditional aid are usually ineffective” (Ellerman, 2004:316) since “such aid pushes the external motive of receiving the aid into the motivational foreground establishes external control – the lack of autonomy” (Ellerman, 2004:316). As Easterly (2007) argued in his article, the conditions within the structural adjustment programs were in excess. Motivation is the challenge for the development assistance. There is a fairly strong evidence suggesting that “aid from specific donors promotes economic growth while aid from other donors does not” (Reddy, and Minoiu, 2009:17). In light of this, donors’ credibility, as well as the role and extent of engagement of those at the receiving end should be principle. Equity is another dilemma for the assistance efficiency. As observed, the “trickle-down process is often slow” (Tisch, and Wallace, 1994 p27) and “the gaps between rich and poor can widen considerably” (Tisch, and Wallace, 1994 …show more content…
Consequently, failure to perform as intended should not come as a surprise. Plans, even the best-laid ones, may not survive the first touch (Helmuth von Moltke, cited in The Economist 2011). Development, essentially, is about change and change comes at a price. Foreign aid is also a format of collective action – of humans for humans. And humans, as we know, are not perfect. Evidently, there has been errors and misjudgements in the process, particularly with the chain what (is the development)-who (are the actors)-how (it is implemented and assessed), however not with the concept itself. We might take the same approach and measure, for instance, the conflict resolution or counter-terrorism policies. Should we evaluate them by sheer number of conflicts and terrorist acts happening worldwide? The crucial question to ask might rather be what the world would have been like without all these collective efforts. Despite existing shortcomings and imperfections, it does not appear reasonable to doubt the very essence of the development assistance and ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater’. Supposing that “the top quarter of aid recipients received 17 per cent of their GDP in aid” (Easterly, 2007:329), significant reduction or complete removal of it will leave these countries certainly more vulnerable. Under such circumstances, the solution would be to constantly revise and improve both the