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It was also covered by Planet Money and written up: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/magazine/is-it-nuts-to-give-to-the-poor-without-strings-attached.html?page
by nether 13y ago
It was also covered by Planet Money and written up: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/magazine/is-it-nuts-to-give-to-the-poor-without-strings-attached.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/magazine/is-it-nuts-to-giv...
PM also followed an American building contractor who was attempting to build a schoolhouse in Haiti. The guy landed in the country pretty gung-ho, ready to apply his extensive experience to building something relatively simple. He had never done aidwork in a developing country. After many delays and run-ins with corruption, he did manage to complete it, but he concluded that just giving them money would have been more efficient.
- willvarfar 13y agoWould just giving them money combat corruption?
- vanderZwan 13y agoI might step on a few people's politically correct toes for saying this, but based on my experience with traveling through Africa I'd say that the richer people think you are, the more corruption you have to deal with, and that the "whiter" you look, the richer people presume you are.
- Terretta 13y agoThis effect is countered by speaking with a local accent. My experience living in central Africa is that "whiteness" of a "cochon gratté" has nothing to do with skin color.
- vanderZwan 13y agoYes, that also fits my experience in Ghana.