Delay U.S. Aid Until Islamabad Reforms, Report Says (Washington Times)
CGD policy analyst Wren Elhai was quoted in a Washington Times article about the Center's new report on U.S. aid to Pakistan.
From the Article
The United States must delay much of a $7.5 billion aid package to Pakistan until the South Asian ally riddled with corruption and anti-American militancy makes major economic reforms, according to a new report.
A task force of the Center for Global Development also questioned the effectiveness of hundreds of millions of dollars the United States already has spent in Pakistan.
“By funding Band-Aid fixes that delay outright crisis and make it easier to avoid necessary but difficult solutions, even well-implemented aid can delay enduring solutions to Pakistan’s most serious problems,” the report says.
It added that the “pure act of delaying disbursement in certain sectors will benefit both the Pakistani reform process and the ultimate effectiveness of U.S. aid.”
“Aid is only going to be a very small part of the solution in Pakistan,” said Wren Elhai, a co-author of the report, “Beyond Bullets and Bombs: Fixing the U.S. Approach to Development in Pakistan.”
He noted that Pakistan’s growth had slowed not because of a lack of aid, but because of the lack of reform, especially of the tax system and energy sector. According to some analysts, less than 2 percent of Pakistanis pay income tax and many also pay nothing for electricity.
“The U.S. can’t buy those solutions,” Mr. Elhai added.