Senior fellow Charles Kenny was mentioned in a Huffington Post UK article on international aid.
From the Article
Last week, Ian Birrell wrote a piece in the Daily Mail supposedly busting the 10 "myths" that he claims are used to justify the UK's outstanding commitment to help the world's poorest people.
I profoundly disagree with his analysis - an analysis which will only hurt and harm the people that Britain's investment in smart aid is helping. Here I argue the alternative case.
'Myth 1: We can afford to spend a few billion pounds to help the world's poor'
To pretend that cutting spending on aid is the answer to Britain's budget problems is woefully misleading. Total government spending in the last financial year was £697 billion. The government made an £850 billion commitment to our banking sector at the height of the financial crisis and we pay £44 billion annually in debt interest. The 0.56% of national income, or £8.7 billion, we currently spend on development assistance and the 0.7% we have promised would not put a significant dent in our deficit even if it were cut completely.
'Myth 2: We must hit the UN target to give away 0.7 per cent of our GNP in aid'
This was an internationally agreed commitment which was signed and reaffirmed in this very country in 2005 to global acclaim. It is Britain that leads larger developed nations on meeting this target - and the practical benefits are immense. It adds to our wealth. It plays to our strengths. It lends stature to our nation. It significantly increases our influence. It means Britain can be trusted. And it was empirically justified by analyses such as that done by the Commission for Africa. But beyond the empirical and practical, is there not something especially fundamental and dare I say sacrosanct about a promise from one developed nation to the very poorest people in the world?
As the Prime Minister said in a speech last month, "most people in our country want Britain to stand for something in the world, to be something in the world. And when I think about what makes me proud of our country, yes, I think of our incredibly brave service men and women that I have the honour to meet and see so often; and yes, I think of our capabilities as an economic and diplomatic power; but I also think of our sense of duty to help others. That says something about this country." He's right.
'Myth 3: Aid works'
Smart aid in Africa often works extremely well. Charles Kenny's new book 'Getting Better' sees an important role for aid in the hugely positive trends in global development. It helps communities stabilise themselves at the basic level of healthcare, education, infrastructure, and agriculture. This allows for society to sustain a rudimentary but viable standard of living, and creates the conditions for a decent level of economic growth. Charity - in the form of short-term handouts - can keep people alive at times of crisis but without some smart aid, combined with other policies, catalysing longer term economic opportunity and jobs they will usually be unable to lift themselves out of poverty. Smart governmental aid is simply the next step up from a pound in the charity tin - it is the structured charitable will of the people.