The Future of Aid

Abstract

The chapter provides a brief summary of the main lessons of the preceding chapters and discusses some if its implications. The authors argue that aid can and should be more useful in the fight against poverty, and that the future of aid depends on whether Western donors are able to re-invent aid. Donors must accept that poor countries do not necessarily need Western guidance, but can still make good use of Western resources. The authors acknowledge that aid is complex and difficult, and they do not come with universal solutions or quick fixes for aid, but points to some generic lessons. Their main points are that aid must be made simpler, that policy choices must be left to the host country, that ‘development’ must be re-defined, and that Western donors must leave paternalism behind.