Arvind Subramanian, a senior fellow jointly at CGD and the Peterson Institute, published a provocative essay in the Wall Street Journal last week. The essay, which drew on Subramanian's recent research, argued that aid can undermine economic growth, harming prospects for prosperity. And it criticized development champions, such as Bono and Angelina Jolie, for allegedly pushing for more aid at the expense of other rich world initiatives on behalf of the poor. CGD president Nancy Birdsall disagrees with Subramanian's premise that there is a limited stock of goodwill in the rich world. Raising cash she argues, can be the first step in raising awareness about how the rich world can do much more to help the world's poorest people.
