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A very thorough analysis of aid industry’s flaws backed with extensive evidence. Easterly harshly criticizes the aid agencies for having unrealisti... (show more)
The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good
From one of the worlds best-known development economistsan excoriating attack on the tragic hubris of the Wests efforts to improve the lot of the so-called developing world
In his previous book, The Elusive Quest for Growth, William Easterly criticized the utter ineffectiveness of Western organizations to mitigate global poverty, and he was promptly fired by his then-employer, the World Bank. The White Mans Burden is his widely anticipated counterpuncha brilliant and blistering indict... (show more)
From one of the worlds best-known development economistsan excoriating attack on the tragic hubris of the Wests efforts to improve the lot of the so-called developing world
In his previous book, The Elusive Quest for Growth, William Easterly criticized the utter ineffectiveness of Western organizations to mitigate global poverty, and he was promptly fired by his then-employer, the World Bank. The White Mans Burden is his widely anticipated counterpuncha brilliant and blistering indictment of the Wests economic policies for the worlds poor. Sometimes angry, sometimes irreverent, but always clear-eyed and rigorous, Easterly argues that we in the West need to face our own history of ineptitude and draw the proper conclusions, especially at a time when the question of our ability to transplant Western institutions has become one of the most pressing issues we face. (show less)
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the book felt very "nagging," and it was very repetitive. it did have some great examples of how we've (the west) failed at helping, and it had gre... (show more)
the book felt very "nagging," and it was very repetitive. it did have some great examples of how we've (the west) failed at helping, and it had great examples of how the east succeeded without the help of the west. the is more of an informative read. (show less)
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If you just read the recommendations, you'll get some pretty indisputable principles: e.g. accountability to those whom aid is intended to benefit, rigorous monitoring and evaluations to determine what's working and what's not and to then influence adaptation of interventions... At the other extreme, the basic message hammered home throughout the rest of the book that grand plans, simplistically applied in a blueprint fashion across different contexts won't work, is also valid. But I have gre... (show more)
If you just read the recommendations, you'll get some pretty indisputable principles: e.g. accountability to those whom aid is intended to benefit, rigorous monitoring and evaluations to determine what's working and what's not and to then influence adaptation of interventions... At the other extreme, the basic message hammered home throughout the rest of the book that grand plans, simplistically applied in a blueprint fashion across different contexts won't work, is also valid. But I have greater faith in the ability of aid, applied with a contextual understanding using the principles outlined in the recommendations, to do more than just get some "quick wins" like vaccinations. And so I had a problem with Easterly's strongly negative tone throughout the majority of the book. (show less)
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It's an interesting foil to "The End of Poverty", but I think they're both overstating their case...Maybe Collier has found the middle ground.
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