Friday, April 30, 2010

Dambisa Moyo and the problems of foreign aid in Africa.

Growing up in the era of We Are the World and Live Aid, this seems almost counter-intuitive.  But it's well reasoned and laid out.  Appeals to the libertarian tendencies I've developed, I guess.  I'd like to read her book.

Dambisa Moyo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
"Dambisa Moyo is an economist and New York Times best-selling author of Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How There is a Better Way For Africa, published in 2009.
...Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There is Another Way for Africa argues that foreign aid has harmed Africa and that it should be phased out. It became a New York Times bestseller. It is published in 8 languages: English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, Italian, Portuguese and Dutch.

The book offers proposals for developing countries to finance development, instead of relying on foreign aid. Moyo has stated that her arguments are based on those made by pro-market economists like Peter Bauer (to whom the book is dedicated) and, later, William Easterly. The Financial Times summarized the book's argument: "Limitless development assistance to African governments, she argues, has fostered dependency, encouraged corruption and ultimately perpetuated poor governance and poverty." She argues that foreign aid helps perpetuate the cycle of poverty and hinders economic growth in Africa.
...former United Nations Secretary-General Mr. Kofi Annan who says "Dambisa Moyo makes a compelling case for a new approach to Africa".  Moyo's ideas are similar to those held by the Rwandan Government and President Paul Kagame."

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