World Bank employees give up on their own bureaucracy, use Wikipedia to find World Bank reports.
The Economist profiles Jacqueline Novogratz, “‘The financial system is broken, yes, but so too is the aid system,’ so ‘a moment of great innovation’ could be at hand.”
Good Intentions are Not Enough Blog tells the WSJ what they can do with their bad advice on charity evaluation.
Serial Moyo attacker attacks again.
The UN goes on strike, nobody notices.
One Comment
I definitely think Sachs is wrong is pinning Africa’s problems to geography but I also think that western economists and its acolytes have failed at pin pointing Africa’s diseased institutions. This idea that the political culture is indeed what is responsible for our development problems is as wrong headed as Sach’s geographical diagnosis.
What Africa really needs has nothing to do with western donors–or invasive and exploitative Market structures or accountability indicies.
First is a reverse brain drain. China’s economic development still presents the best defense for this in African development.
Second is market integration. Europe’s recovery after the second world war presents the best defense for this.
Third is Education and capacity building. India’s economic development presents the best case study for this.
While these approaches are far more nuanced than may have been posted above. What should be clear in everyone’s mind is that unlike Moyo, who is arguing that the west’s generosity is the cause of our problems and also unlike Sachs who is arguing that it is the result of negligence and even you who argues that the west need to starve government of funds-(like the monopoly of force is an abstract concept that will fund itself, there is really nothing the west needs to do to alleviate us from suffering. All these literature directed to the west like they hold the key to our development or like they have gated the chains to it is simply a money making scam. You all know fully well that the people to whom you sell your make believe about their “power to change the world” if they “turned off the aid taps” or “donate 0.7% of their national income” really have no power to change it. Africa’s development will remain in the hands of real Africans- not runaway ex Goldman Sachs “coconuts”–but these real Africans, you cannot sell books to.
If you want Africa to develop, perhaps you should write books for the people who really need to read it but cannot afford it.
And o! I forgot, you would also have to teach them to read the books..Not enough profit eh!