Following this meeting of nations and the perceived success of the Marshall Plan in Europe, many believed that infusing investment capital in impoverished regions like Africa would encourage economic growth in the same way, and Western governments subsequently began funneling millions of dollars in aid to the developing world. Rather, she is critical of the modern understanding of aid-based development, as established in the post-Depression atmosphere of the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference. Though firm in her stance against systematic aid payments from government to government, Moyo is careful to articulate that she is not arguing for an end to emergency- and charity-based aid. The author’s childhood in Zambia, her Ivy-League education, her work experience at the World Bank, and her exhaustive research have led her to believe that “the notion that aid can alleviate systemic poverty, and has done so, is a myth… aid has been, and continues to be, an unmitigated political, economic and humanitarian disaster for most parts of the developing world.” In Dead Aid, African-born Moyo argues that government-to-government development aid should cease because it has created more harm than help on the continent. Are there better methods of bringing about poverty alleviation in Africa? These chilling facts provoke many difficult questions, including how such a sizable sum of money could have provided such little long-term help to Africans. In spite of this substantial influx of money, Africa’s real per capita income today is actually lower than it was in the 1970s, at approximately US $1 a day, making it the poorest region in the world.

Read more…Īccording to Dambisa Moyo’s Dead Aid, over the past 50 years more than US $2 trillion of foreign aid has been transferred from rich countries to poor, with over US $1 trillion going to Africa alone.

As Allison reveals, Moyo discovers that the key to effective international aid is not charity but holistic economic empowerment through investment and microlending.

The following post by Allison Bearden, an Opportunity intern in our Resource Development department, reflects on Dambiso Moyo’s book Dead Aid. We welcome your comments in the comment field below–tell us what you’re reading, or respond to the piece we’ve highlighted. We feature works that are noteworthy, inspiring, educational or relevant to the work we do at Opportunity. Every Wednesday, we highlight an article, book or a blog in our “ What We’re Reading” series.

Dambisa moyo foreign aid