International AID

Abstract

As its title is meant to suggest, this paper is a reply to Sir Tim Lankester s article International Aid: Experience, Prospects and the Moral Case , published in the World Economics last year1. Therefore, I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude for the author s responsiveness to my interest and queries in the area of development economics. The main point of Sir Lankester s article was, I believe, to strengthen the case for international aid by showing first, that it was not just a theoretical (e.g. optional!) matter2 and second, that its efficiency was not a self-evident fait accompli, but a still-to-achieve objective, entirely contingent upon human and institutional factors such as the will, interests, and past experience of donors, as well as the system of governance and existing policies from the recipient countries. Moreover, the human factor is actually two-fold, in the sense that one can focus either on the external part engaged in the aid mission the donor , or on the internal one the recipient. Sir Tim Lankester looks into what motivates the former, whereas I intend to unpack the life-experience of the latter, for I strongly believe that what ultimately decides the success or failure of development projects has more to do with understanding their life situation, than with the actual quantum of aid.