Somebody needs to do something about that, not just ignore it and hope the holy and all-powerful market economy will provide a solution." I react to that proposal the same way Jaime Talon, one of the lead characters in my novel, Heart of Diamonds, did when confronted by a similar argument about a panhandler in New York: "What matters is that right now-today-that man over there is hungry. Somehow, Moyo expects the magic of the free market financial system to end corruption in Africa, stop wasteful spending, and power the continent out of poverty. While outlining a litany of worthwhile approaches to economic development including micro-lending, opening markets in the developed world to African products, and more foreign direct investment (FDI), her silver bullet is a solution only an investment banker could love: the bond market. Whether you agree with Moyo's reasoning or not, you have to seriously question the solutions she proposes.
I suspect aid fails more often because it is poorly structured and managed, an argument that Moyo essentially dismisses out of hand.
It's the same argument that's been used for years to oppose welfare programs applied in this instance not to individuals, but to entire nations. In this thinking, when aid is given, the recipients don't develop other resources, therefore aid causes them to not try. I find both arguments hard to swallow, especially since they are based mostly on the logical premise of cum hoc ergo propter hoc (with this, therefore because of this). But Moyo's main premise is that aid itself is the cause, that it creates a culture dependent on foreign handouts and rife with corruption that, according to the author, apparently wouldn't exist if aid weren't available. There is little to show for the trillions of dollars that have been poured into the continent-a failure with numerous causes. There is no question that much of the aid intended to build economies in Africa has been grossly wasted, stolen, and misused. While I don't necessarily disagree with her conclusion, I didn't find her arguments particularly convincing. Dambisa Moyo, who formerly worked for Goldman Sachs and the World Bank, draws a conclusion not unknown to others in the field: development aid (as differentiated from humanitarian aid) has not only done little good for the nations of Africa but has indeed caused great harm.
Dead Aid is an interesting, provocative look at the foreign aid industry and its effects on Africa.
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