Reforming U.S. Development Policy

Publication Date: January 2006

Publisher: Center for Global Development; Center for Global Development

Author(s): Nancy Birdsall; Stewart Patrick; Milan Vaishnav; Nancy Birdsall; Stewart Patrick; Milan Vaishnav

Research Area: International relations

Type:

Abstract:

As the Bush Administration prepares to announce the reorganization of U.S. foreign assistance, Nancy Birdsall, Stewart Patrick and Milan Vaishnav argue in a new essay that making a dent in global poverty will require that the U.S. address four flaws: low volume and poor quality of aid; incoherence in non-aid development policies; lack of a strategy for weak and failing states; and a penchant for unilateral over multilateral action. Related event: Transformational Diplomacy, a talk by Steve Krasner, Director of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff.