Planners vs. Searchers in Foreign Aid

Planners vs. Searchers in Foreign Aid
by Prof. William Easterly

Each year countries and international organizations pour billions of dollars into development actions in Asia and the Pacific. How should this work be managed? Do the Millennium Development Goals reflect the return of central planning in development economics and foreign aid? Is it productive to set outcome targets for foreign aid in Asia? Or should aid workers determine what projects will work and be held accountable for the results? Prof. Easterly, an expert on the determinants of long-run economic growth and the effectiveness of development assistance efforts, will speak on these issues as part of ADB's Distinguished Speakers Program. He is the author of The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists' Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics, and numerous articles in leading economics journals and general interest publications.

http://www.adb.org/economics/speakers_program/easterly.pdf