To What Extent Is Aid Effective? Essay Example
To what extent is aid effective?
The world is split in two, on one side the prosperous global north whose early industrialisation and development has led to the population having long lasting and comfortable lives, while on the other side, the global south falters collapsing in a pit of poverty and despair. The answer would seem simple, for the rich and well-off to give generously to the poor, so that the whole world can share in the abundant resources that this planet produces. However, sixty years on since the Marshall plan and the birth of the modern aid movement, there has been no change to the status quo, the global south still suffers from the biblical famines and deaths and the north still prospers from welfare and advanced healthcare. Thus, how effective can aid really be?
It would be simple to argue the merits and demerits of aid if there was only one type, however the concept of aid is made even harder by the fact that aid can come in numerous forms and with numerous different clauses. However, the generally agreed definition of aid is the voluntary process of transferring resources from one country to another with the objective of partly benefiting the recipient country.
The differences between types of aid focus mainly on the delivery system of the aid as aid can be either Bi-lateral, where a state's government gives aid directly to another government. For example, the UK gives around 0.7% of its GDP in aid to developing countries. Or multi-lateral meaning a government gives aid to a non-governmental organisation who distribute the aid themselves. Both delivery methods of aid have been criticised for differing reasons, while a more controversial aspect of aid is that it can come in the form of tied aid in which the donor country transfers aid in exchange for a service by the recipient country.
The aim of this essay is to make a conclusion on whether aid is effective, which I shall do by firstly briefly explaining the growth of the modern
The world is split in two, on one side the prosperous global north whose early industrialisation and development has led to the population having long lasting and comfortable lives, while on the other side, the global south falters collapsing in a pit of poverty and despair. The answer would seem simple, for the rich and well-off to give generously to the poor, so that the whole world can share in the abundant resources that this planet produces. However, sixty years on since the Marshall plan and the birth of the modern aid movement, there has been no change to the status quo, the global south still suffers from the biblical famines and deaths and the north still prospers from welfare and advanced healthcare. Thus, how effective can aid really be?
It would be simple to argue the merits and demerits of aid if there was only one type, however the concept of aid is made even harder by the fact that aid can come in numerous forms and with numerous different clauses. However, the generally agreed definition of aid is the voluntary process of transferring resources from one country to another with the objective of partly benefiting the recipient country.
The differences between types of aid focus mainly on the delivery system of the aid as aid can be either Bi-lateral, where a state's government gives aid directly to another government. For example, the UK gives around 0.7% of its GDP in aid to developing countries. Or multi-lateral meaning a government gives aid to a non-governmental organisation who distribute the aid themselves. Both delivery methods of aid have been criticised for differing reasons, while a more controversial aspect of aid is that it can come in the form of tied aid in which the donor country transfers aid in exchange for a service by the recipient country.
The aim of this essay is to make a conclusion on whether aid is effective, which I shall do by firstly briefly explaining the growth of the modern