Does foreign aid hinder development?

It all depends on what kind of aid is given - give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

by Vee

sadly very little "aid" teaches him how to fish

I'm not sure. I think it's complicated! The way the aid is given makes a big difference. Microloans seem a good way to help, given to individuals - and it's been shown to work much better when those individuals are female! - rather than huge sums given to governments or agencies. Encouraging and supporting people to work and improve their situation, rather than just believing that it's up to someone else to fix their problems, definitely seems like the best way forward to me.

by VerityG

Yes. It makes them less likely to get off their a@&$- & learn, develop, improve & be self-sufficient.

Unfortunately, corruption at varying levels in their society, helps not one bit.
So what's to do?
STOP the aid! MAKE them do things correctly. This will depend on their level of education. But continuosly giving handouts is not the way, unless it's directed properly. And this may need overseers to do that.

Case in point. Australia looked after TPNG. All worked extremely well, & flowed efficiently for decades'. The country DEMANDED self-governmentship. They got their wish in 1975.
Since then, the country's been going to 'hell in a hand basket' extremely rapidly, mostly due to corruption, which cannot be controlled.

PNG could've been possibly one of THE wealthiest countries' in the world, with its' natural beauty & associated activities eg diving, hiking, allowing much tourism, the mining boom there & forestry industry.

They lost that opportunity because they THOUGHT they could do WITHOUT external governance. WRONG! Bigtime.

The country has been spiralling out of control for years. They're on the brink of bankruptcy. It needn't have come to this.
They made the mess they're in. They'll have to sort it out for THEMSELVES! After all, that's what self-government is all about!
Good luck with THAT!

by donjo

No it doesn't make things worse, the question is whether it makes things better. That's hard to say really, each country is different, so there's no straight forward answer.

by meggf

I don't think so. People need to be properly housed and nourished before they can turn their attention to development.

by Gayle Beveridge

Sometimes it does. I think when its investment aid it helps but just giving people handouts can make them lazy.

by Gia