Comments on: Everyone Should Be Responsible…(except the aid agencies)

By: Luva

Luva — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:37:41 +0000

See also recent blog posted on ODI website.

Beyond the Numbers: using aid to combat the crisis in poor countries requires more than just cash

http://blogs.odi.org.uk/blogs/main/archive/2009/02/26/7085.aspx

By: femmeautonome

femmeautonome — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:46:02 +0000

I, too, look forward to following this blog. When I started my blog in 2005, most of my first few posts were actually about foreign aid and I wrote about re-reading The Elusive Quest for Growth at the time. In particular, I wrote about my opinion of your use of GDP as a wealth indicator.

Now that I’m formally studying economics I’m interested to process your ideas through another filter.

By: steven leighton

steven leighton — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:54:02 +0000

Perhaps your blog could have begun with something more substantial?

By: Gerald Steinberg - NGO Monitor

Gerald Steinberg - NGO Monitor — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 10:00:27 +0000

Well done -- NGOs claiming humanitarian agendas have become political and economic superpowers (Oxfam, War on Want, CARE, etc.) In contrast to governments and business, there are no checks and balances in the NGO world, and no accountability. The BBC is being attacked for rejecting demands to broadcast ads on behalf of 13 charities incld. Ofxam and Care, promoting the cause of Palestinians in Gaza, and without any info on where the money will go. For NGO Monitor's summary -- http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/ngo_monitor_highlights_pressure_of_biased_charities_on_bbc_and_sky_over_gaza_appeal_

By: Shanta Devarajan

Shanta Devarajan — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:26:38 +0000

Bill: I’ve posted a response to your post in my blog (http://africacan.worldbank.org/responsible-aid-in-a-time-of-crisis). Welcome to the blogosphere! Shanta

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:51:27 +0000

hey bill！

love your work and incites, but could you perhaps get an rss reader link on your blog? i’m pretty busy, like most people in existence, and would love for your entries to come to me!

thanks!

peace.

devin.

By: A. Carella

A. Carella — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:59:56 +0000

I am sure you’ve seen this website, but maybe some of your readers haven’t.

Methods of monitoring and evaluating the progress and outcomes of development aid programs

http://mande.co.uk

By: A. Carella

A. Carella — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:13:06 +0000

To take it to the next level I think you should start your own watchdog NGO. Get private funding so you don’t have to answer to anybody, then go to the villages and measure impact by asking the poor to rate the services they receive from local NGOs. Start in Rwanda! According to USAID (I asked in 2007), they’re funding 47 NGOs and it’s a small, densely populated country with a leader who is vocal about aid accountability. I bet you could even get Rick Warren to pitch in…

By: toubab

toubab — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 09:58:36 +0000

Dr. Easterly, as a worker in/student of this field (and a returned Peace Corps volunteer) I’ve been a huge fan of yours for years. Thanks for starting this blog! I can’t wait to hear what you have to say.

By: Euan MacDonald

Euan MacDonald — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 08:17:45 +0000

I’m really looking forward to reading this blog, and particularly the elements that relate to the transparency and accountability of development aid institutions.

I work as a researcher on the Global Administrative Law project at NYU, which seeks precisely to frame and promote issues of accountability, etc., in global institutions; I also arun the GAL blog (http://globaladminlaw.blogspot.com/). There are clearly huge areas of overlapping interest for us here – albeit from a more legal perspective – particularly as the Institute for International Law and Justice has just launched a major “financing development” research programme, which will have a strong GAL component.

Looking forward, then, to some reading your contributions, and hopefully some inter-blog interaction in the near future!