Development Delusions and Contradictions

This book analyses the shortcomings of the Western development aid programme. Through exploring the evolution of aid over more than seven decades, development is examined as an industry with a variety of motives and actors. The driving forces and dynamics in the relationship between aid and economic development are highlighted in relation to faulty development structures and misaligned aims. With a particular focus on Egypt, radical questions are posed on how global aid and development can be improved, including how it can respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. This book aims to present an alternative aid framework to help overcome the dysfunctionality of the current international development system. It will be of interest to researchers and policymakers working within development economics and development policy.

Highlights the risks and shortcomings of development fads and fashionable forms of aid Explores the role of aid donor agencies and how they can be better utilised to promote development Analyses governmental action in relation to aid and development and the weaknesses that are currently seen

Autorentext

David Sims is a development consultant who has worked with a number of international agencies, including the European Commission, World Bank, and UN.

Inhalt
Part I Inside the Donor World.- 1. Background: A Sketch of the Development Industry.- 2. The Imperative to Spend.- 3. Product Development.- 4. Control, Compliance, and More Control.- 5. Procurement.- 6. Numbers, Indicators, and Technical Objectivity.- 7. Chronic Ills of the Industry.- 8. Acts of Congregation.- 9. Texts and Documentation.- 10. Herd Instinct.- 11. Plus Ça Change.- 12. Responses to Covid-19.- Part II: When the West Meets the Rest.- 13. Background: Governments in the Rest.- 14. Donor Overload.- 15. Partnerships?.- 16. Country Ownership.- 17. Pay Scales.- 18. The Rest Strikes Back.- 19. Blind Support for the Private Sector.- 20. Informality.- Part III: Conclusions.- 21. Summing Up.- 22. Peering into the Future.<p