Now, the debate on the effectiveness of foreign aid appears to be between Gates and Easterly. Jeff Sachs is still relevant but not as influential nowadays.
NYU economist Bill Easterly, a frequent critic of foreign
aid, is apparently unimpressed by the recent statements put forth by Bill Gates on aid effectiveness. In his FT op-ed, Easterly observes:
“The obsession with
international aid is a rich-world vanity that exaggerates the importance of
western elites. It is comforting to imagine that benevolent leaders advised by
wise experts could make the poor world rich. But this is a condescending
fantasy.”
(Financial Times Op-Ed - Western vanities that do little to help the world’s poor by William Easterly)
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