1990

A report-card evaluation by Landesa (then called the Rural Development Institute) of U.S. foreign aid programs — the authors’ 10th report card measuring the effectiveness of such programs in reaching the poor and promoting basic human needs in recipient countries. The authors conclude that the Agency for International Development (AID) is spending only 32 cents on the dollar of the evaluated foreign economic aid on undertakings that are likely to benefit the poor, and that in some less-developed countries, less than 15 cents on the dollar is spent for such effective undertakings. However, they also conclude that in some countries, AID is spending over 80 cents on the dollar on projects to benefit the poor, and that AID needs a larger field staff to implement high-quality projects. | Download PDF