In the light of a recent literature review that I had to do on the impact of aid on economic growth for an upcoming pointless assignment, I had a chance to review a few of the leading quantitative studies on the said topic. Without naming any of the names or going into great technical detail, here’s what we find:
STUDY A
Shows that foreign aid positively affects economic growth in developing countries. The study is based on modern economic growth theories, takes into consideration domestic savings, human capital and export and looks at 77 countries over three ten year periods.
STUDY B
Looks at 56 countries over six four year periods and finds that aid has a positive effect on economic growth only in countries that have good policies, and little effect in countries that don’t.
STUDY C
Using the original data from study B, adding a few countries and extending the study period for a few more years, this study finds that foreign aid has no effect on economic growth, regardless the policy environment.
STUDY D
Looks at 107 countries over several ten to forty year periods, with a whole lot more variables, including geography, policy environment, size and shape and comes to a conclusion that aid has no effect on economic growth whichever way you want to look at it. However – the study admits that the results of the research are “fragile” that even minor changes in one of the variables will yield different outcomes.
Looking at these conflicting and inconclusive studies done by respectable economists in respectable institutions, all I can say is – SERioUsLY, GUYS, don’t you have anything BETTER to do than come up with stuff I can’t even quote in papers knowing that at least one of you will contradict whichever other one I want to quote? And REaLLy, don’t you know that you’re dealing with COUNTRIES and MONEY and DONORS and MONEY, which translates to GOVERNMENTS, CONSULTANTS, diamond encrusted HUMMERS and FIVE StAR HOTELS, and lots and lots of fried meat… Did any one of you ever stop to consider either one of these variables in your studies? You don’t think they have any correlation with growth? I bet if you ran one of your fancy tests, however FRAGILE your data was, you’d find a correlation. Now if you will only hire me as a research assistant in one of these studies, I will be more than happy to forget how much pain and anguish your unnecessarily convoluted studies caused me, especially in the last twenty four hours.
2 comments:
Now I would actually fund that study! I think if dedicated enough one could find a rather robust correlation between fried pork consumption and economic development... not sure it would be positive (as I sit down to a fried Spam sandwich with a side of pork rinds). On a related note, I read a study several years back about the correlation between UN missions and the development and expansion of 5 star hotels... you may want to try to find it - great fun but no surprise to anyone that has ever worked or lived in a country with an active mission.
All right, I am all over it. What format do you want the proposal to be in? Nevermind that it's getting harder and harder to believe in all this development shit - I think I have proved many times in the past,that i have ridiculously strong commitments for all sorts of causes deemed nonsensical. I am, after all, the mission girl of nonsense, if you haven't forgotten yet.
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