Book of the Week: Dead Aid

15 Dec 2012

I decided to read Dead Aid after watching this TED video. [ted id=1617 width=560 height=315] My favorite part of the video is the hippos. The book is divided into two parts. The first part talks about the history of aid and why aid isn’t working. The second part describes a way to get away from aid. Dambisa Moyo argues that aid has hurt Africa instead of help Africa. Aid gives rise to corruption and the stagnation of growth. Growth is needed to lift a country out of poverty. Aid kills entrepreneurship and the middle class, reinforcing the corrupt government. When you’re dependent on aid, there’s no reason for the government to be accountable to the people. You can think of it a bit like giving someone a fish instead of teaching someone to fish loaning someone money to go fishing. Maybe also a little bit like a crack dealer. The first hit’s free to keep you coming back for more. I think it is pretty easy to agree that aid doesn’t work in Africa. The second part covered various financial avenues (bonds, foreign direct investment, microloans, trade, etc.) to fund Africa’s growth. An important part of the solution is China’s involvement in Africa. Read the book if you want the details. It doesn’t sound nice to say publicly to stop aid to Africa, but that may be the best thing we can do to see Africa grow. Also, it might not even matter what the West does as China increases its involvement in Africa. To summarize as a 6 word story: Cut aid, watch China grow Africa.

The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now - African Proverb

Purchase Dead Aid on Amazon.com or check it out at your local library.