Aid Debate Research Articles

A fragile balance: re-examining the history of foreign aid, security, and diplomacy

1) Why Foreign Aid? 2) Foreign Aid and Foreign and Security Policy 3) The Impact of Colonialism on International Assistance 4) Manifest Destiny and American Antecedents 5) The World Wars and the Origins of Contemporary U.S. Foreign Aid 6) Point Four, USAID and the Cold War 7) Vietnam: The Legacy of a Tragedy 8) Basic Needs, Structural Adjustment and the End of the Cold War 9) Crossing the Millennium: September Eleven and the Iraq Fiasco 10) Foreign Aid Debates in the Twenty-First Century.

The Aid Debate: Beyond the Liberal/Conservative Divide

The Aid Debate: Beyond the Liberal/Conservative Divide

The Solow Model, Poverty Traps, and the Foreign Aid Debate

For almost thirty years the Solow model experienced relative neglect within the field of development economics. However, since the mid-1980s the neoclassical growth model has been at the heart of the debate among economists interested in the important issues of growth, development, and convergence. More recently, the case for increasing foreign aid to sub-Saharan Africa has reemerged and has been linked to the Solow model via the hypothesis that many poor countries are caught in a poverty trap. This paper provides critical commentary on the literature relating to the Solow model, economic development, poverty traps, and the case for foreign aid.

Putting aid in its place: Insights from early structuralists on aid and balance of payments and lessons for contemporary aid debates

AbstractRecent debates on aid and development are waged on narrow terms in comparison to earlier debates in the 1950s and 1960s. The principal concern of the ‘structuralist’ pioneers of development economics, and the key absence in the current debates, was an understanding of the structural impediments faced by countries going through late industrialisation and rapid urban growth. These result in chronic trade deficits, shortages of foreign exchange and persistent balance of payments disequilibria. The positive potential of aid was understood to lie in its ability to mediate these imbalances in the context of national industrialisation strategies. By the same logic, this potential is lost if countries run trade surpluses. Current debates on aid mostly overlook this dual logic, despite the fact that both positive and negative experiences of post‐war development largely vindicate these structuralist insights, particularly in light of current global financial imbalances. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Challenging Aids Denialism – Khabzela: Life and Times of a South African

Summary This article argues that the biography Khabzela: Life and Times of a South African (Mc Gregor 2005) repositions Aids sufferers at the centre of the current HIV and Aids debate. The article shows that, through the tragic representation of its subject, the biography advocates the supply of ARVs to prolong the lives of those who are infected with the virus.

Tax Expenditures as Foreign Aid

[Note: For a revised and expanded version of this paper, please see Hidden Foreign Aid, http://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=1044041] Whether the U.S. government should be allowed to claim credit for the private philanthropy of its citizens is a hot topic in today's foreign aid debate. Overlooked in this debate, however, is a form of aid that straddles the traditional public/private divide: charitable tax expenditures. Through the many tax privileges that the United States grants to its nonprofit organizations, the government implicitly foots some portion of the bill anytime these organizations send money abroad for development purposes. Unlike official development assistance (ODA), these tax expenditure funds are privately organized and distributed, yet unlike voluntary transfers they are paid for by the public fisc. This is not private aid; it is privatized aid. At the same time that direct expenditures on aid were falling in recent decades, these tax expenditures were rising. The basic, descriptive goal of this Comment is to show how nonprofit tax policies have shaped the content of American aid. The broader goal is to connect this insight with the literatures on tax expenditures and international development. If one accepts the Comment's theoretical premise, then U.S. government spending on aid is somewhat larger, and substantially different in character, than most commentators have assumed. Although tax expenditures on foreign aid raise a number of concerns, they also, I contend, possess unique virtues that can make them a valuable complement to ODA.

The Politics of Uncertainty: The AIDS Debate, Thabo Mbeki and the South African Government Response

Shortly after becoming President of South Africa in 1999 Thabo Mbeki began to seek non-mainstream advice about his nations AIDS epidemic; a number of those consulted were outspoken in denying the causal link between HIV and AIDS. In response to Mbekis actions over 5000 scientists signed the Durban Declaration which declared HIV to be the cause of AIDS and which appeared in Nature shortly before the thirteenth AIDS conference held in Durban South Africa in July 2000. The government position and strategy were not completely resolved until July 2002 when the Constitutional Court effectively compelled the government to provide anti-retroviral medication to all HIV-infected pregnant women. Mbekis public remarks in essence can be interpreted as seeking to promote an understanding of AIDS in Africa in terms of epidemiology rather than virology. Throughout this episode different interpretations of AIDS served to advance different moral and political courses of action. The ability of medical science to compel political action depended on whether that science was understood to be conclusive or uncertain objective or value-laden disinterested or tied to vested interests. Mbeki (along with AIDS sceptics) tested conventional AIDS science for these qualities. By examining the politics of uncertainty we learn about the politics that sustain certainty. (authors)

AID AND DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA: THE DEBATE, THE CHALLENGES AND THE WAY FORWARD

AbstractThe article discusses the emerging literature and debates on aid, within the context of expected increases in aid flows to the continent. The trends in ODA flows indicate a reversal in aid flows to the continent since 2000, with subsequent increases in aid intensity and dependence. Although the more recent literature on aid is doubtful if aid only spurs growth in a in a good policy environment, the aid‐institutional debate indicates a clear aid‐institutional paradox, especially relating to the macroeconomic effects, the fiscal response, the absorptive capacity and the good governance aid debates. The literature further indicates that aid could serve as a barrier to vulnerable societies. From the donors' perspective, it is evident that quantity of aid does not imply quality and that the ultimate responsibility lies with recipient governments to ensure more efficient absorption of aid.

COMMENTARY: Traditional Healer Organizations in Uganda Should Contribute to AIDS Debate

COMMENTARY: Traditional Healer Organizations in Uganda Should Contribute to AIDS Debate

Ghost of the financing gap: an overlooked aspect of the aid debate

AbstractIn the decades‐old intense debate on foreign aid, a great deal has been said about qualitative aspects of aid and aid‐effectiveness (i.e. fungibility, among other things). The latest landmark in the debate was the World Bank publication Assessing Aid: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why, which generated a new wave of controversy about foreign aid and policy conditionality. Much of the recent debate has focused on the qualitative aspects of the aid‐growth relationship and the role of ‘good’ policies. However, little attention had been paid so far to some important quantitative aspects. The present study draws attention to this often overlooked aspect of the aid debate to demonstrate that the level of aid requirements of a country is an equally important and integral part of aid and aid‐effectiveness. Estimation of the magnitude of external assistance requirements of countries used by international financial institutions is compared with an alternative model, the so‐called ‘Balance of Payments Constrained Growth Model’ (based on the Harrod trade multiplier). It is revealed that the latter is not a real alternative as it is an incomplete model. More importantly, it is shown that international financial institutions use these quantitative frameworks in a very flexible and pragmatic way to carry on a meaningful policy dialogue with both donors and recipient countries, which has an important bearing on overall aid and aid‐effectiveness. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

AIDS Debate in AN

AIDS Debate in <i>AN</i>

Through a glass, darkly: data and uncertainty in the AIDS debate.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is the greatest threat to development in much of Africa. It is already the main cause of death in many countries, especially those in Southern Africa. However there is an absence of solid data on the scale and scope of the disease and how it is evolving. In this article we discuss the data on the epidemic--where it comes from and how it is presented. We note the limitations of the use of antenatal clinic surveys--which provide the bulk of our information. We then turn to the evidence of impact. The paper shows that the long incubation period between infection and illness means that it takes time for HIV infections to turn into AIDS cases, and AIDS cases to translate into deaths with all the consequences of orphaning, poverty and changing population structures. Furthermore it means that once the HIV prevalence has peaked, AIDS impact will take years to work through--this epidemic is a 'long-wave' event. The paper is premised on the view that HIV causes AIDS and AIDS causes death. It notes that insufficient and/or unreliable data have allowed leaderships to deny the scope and scale of the problem and that this is unacceptable. However it is incumbent on all to accept the moral responsibility for and the moral consequences of their work, and this includes those who gather, interpret and use the data.

Baby headed households: Media (mis)representations and ‘the AIDS debate’

Abstract A hegemonic view on HIV/AIDS has emerged in South Africa and is supported by the way in which HIV/AIDS is being reported in the media. The author argues thai the scientific basis of this view is far from sound. The article is divided into three sections. The first highlights the methodological weaknesses of the antenatal surveys and the second discusses the results of anti-retroviral drug trials. In the final section, the author shows how erroneous data is being presented as factual evidence of child headed households. It is concluded that the hegemonic view is being kept alive by the negative social consequences that may result if it is found to be untrue.

The Circumcision and AIDS Debate

Anthropology NewsVolume 41, Issue 1 p. 22-22 The Circumcision and AIDS Debate Edward C Green, Edward C Green Edward C Green, a Washington, DC-based consultant, may be reached at egreendc@aol.com. His most recent book is Indigenous Theories of Contagious Disease (1999).Search for more papers by this author Edward C Green, Edward C Green Edward C Green, a Washington, DC-based consultant, may be reached at egreendc@aol.com. His most recent book is Indigenous Theories of Contagious Disease (1999).Search for more papers by this author First published: 07 July 2009 https://doi.org/10.1111/an.2000.41.1.22Citations: 1 AboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article.Citing Literature Volume41, Issue1January 2000Pages 22-22 RelatedInformation

Players and issues in international aid

*A lucid primer on the complex topic of foreign aid written for a wide readership including introductory level students *Spells out the players in development assistance: the IMF, World Bank, United Nations, governments and NGOs *Differing perspectives on the timeless aid debate offer clarification on the subject of international aid In a political climate where international assistance is under attack, it has never been more important that the general public understand the debate. Players and Issues in International Aid is a one-stop source of vital information on the politics, players, and issues surrounding international development assistance.

The New Multilateralism in Japan's Foreign Policy

PART I: FOREIGN AID AND FOREIGN POLICY - The Evolution of Japan's Aid Diplomacy and the New Aid Debate - Reaction and Action in Japan's Foreign Policy: The Context of Multilateral Diplomacy - PART II: THE NEW MULTILATERALISM - The New Multilateralism in Japan's Aid Diplomacy: The Policy Framework - Japan and the Multilateral Development Banks: The Search for a Role - The New Multilateralism: A Comparative Analysis - PART III: AID DIPLOMACY IN A NEW WORLD ORDER - The Case of the Commonwealth of Independent States, 1990-1993 - Requiem for the Reactive State?

A Millennium of Classical Persian Poetry: A Guide to the Reading and Understanding of Persian Poetry from the Tenth to the Twentieth Century

Primal Africa: An Introduction The Aid Debate Belgian Experience: Zaire and Rwanda English Experience: Sudan French Experience: Niger North Africa Experience: Egypt Portuguese Experience: Angola Spanish Experience: Equatorial Guinea A Continent for Tomorrow Bibliography.

The New Multilateralism in Japan's Foreign Policy

PART I: FOREIGN AID AND FOREIGN POLICY - The Evolution of Japan's Aid Diplomacy and the New Aid Debate - Reaction and Action in Japan's Foreign Policy: The Context of Multilateral Diplomacy - PART II: THE NEW MULTILATERALISM - The New Multilateralism in Japan's Aid Diplomacy: The Policy Framework - Japan and the Multilateral Development Banks: The Search for a Role - The New Multilateralism: A Comparative Analysis - PART III: AID DIPLOMACY IN A NEW WORLD ORDER - The Case of the Commonwealth of Independent States, 1990-1993 - Requiem for the Reactive State?

The Hermeneutics of Purity in Mark's Gospel: Considerations for the AIDS Debate

The classical polarities of hermeneutics - the authoritative text and the present context - are seen in Mark's Gospel to be resolved in a quite distinct paradigm of what constitutes “sacred text”. The use of literary-critical analysis suggests that not only does Mark reveal a hermeneutical awareness, but that he intends the ongoing community of faith to be the necessary component that constitutes the text as sacred. This principle finds a pertinent example in Mark's handling of the issue of purity. In turn, to be true to the hermeneutical principle espoused by Mark, suggestions are made as to the (necessary) interaction of Mark with the current issue for the church in questions raised by AIDS.

Aiding the Aid Debate

Book reviewed in this article: Democratizing Development: The Role of Voluntary Organizations. By John Clark When Aid is No Help: How Projects Fail and How They Could Succeed. By John Madeley et al