Poll Discussion

In the past decades, African countries have received large amounts of aid aimed at either inducing investment or stimulating policy reform. The results of foreign aid have varied enormously. Some African countries are successful in stimulating varying degrees of economic growth and poverty reduction, but most are frustrated by low growth. As the major players in revitalizing African development, multilateral institutions such as the IMF and World Bank have been criticized for doing too much as well as too little. By pinpointing the reasons behind Africa's low growth performance and assessing the effectiveness of foreign aid, the multilateral institutions have come to the conclusion that aid should be conditioned on policy reform. While some agree that multilateral institutions should broaden their role in African development by effecting policy changes in addition to financial assistance, others think multilateral institutions should refrain from interfering with the governance of African countries. What do you think?

Related Links

Aid Effectiveness Research and Aid Reform in Africa [by the World Bank]

Promoting Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa [by the IMF]

Shell Games Won't Help Africa [by the Cato Institute]