“The major benefit the developing countries derive from the operations of a number of the multilateral aid institutions, such as the World Bank, is the technical assistance built into the process of transferring the aid money to the recipient countries. Though often sound on general economic grounds, their advice is nevertheless resented for political or emotional reasons. In many instances it would not even have been heard, let alone acted upon, had these institutions been unable to provide the recipient governments with a sweetener in the form of financial resources on more favourable terms than were on offer in commercial financial markets. The grant element in the capital transfers classified as official development assistance seems a derisory sum to pay for the opportunity to carry on this form of international dialogue with those responsible for the design and execution of public policies in the Third World. When heeded, the advice has done some good, at the very least in changing the perceptions of bureaucrats and politicians; in some instances it may have had an appreciable effect in making public policies more economically rational.”
-The Poverty of Development Economics, by Deepak Lal, p.108, (the book is online at Institute of Economic Affairs)
Via Catallaxy
Related;
Reviews of some of Lal’s books- at Stumbling and Mumbling, and at Social Affairs Unit
Culture, Democracy, and Development
Multimedia
A Classical Liberal Defends Globalization- interview with Lal
Two Views on Global Development: Revive the Invisible Hand or Strengthen a "Society of States"?- Featuring Deepak Lal, University of California at Los Angeles, Author, Reviving the Invisible Hand: The Case for Classical Liberalism in the Twenty-first Century (Princeton University Press, 2006), and Ethan Kapstein, Center for Global Development, Author, Economic Justice in an Unfair World: Toward a Level Playing Field (Princeton University Press, 2006).
The current era of globalization is only a partial return to a liberal economic order. Renowned development economist Deepak Lal will explain why minimal government intervention, free trade, free capital flows, and the abolition of international organizations such as the World Bank offer the best path for growth and healthy international relations. In his view, attempts to ameliorate the impact of the market threaten global economic progress and stability. Ethan Kapstein believes that countries will shape their own destinies only in an international system that emphasizes the central role of states and the diverse social contracts they represent. Can these two views be reconciled?
