Mike, The name is SIDA and it is the government group for foreign aid. Many years ago (around 30), before I moved out of Sweden, I participated in some work.
Hakan At 19:20 06/06/2006, you wrote: >I used to know some Swedish guys - was the group SETA? or SEDA? The did >good work. > >Hakan Falk wrote: > > >Mike, > > > >This was very interesting to hear, because it show how systematic > >it was/is. I had some insight in foreign aid from Sweden and some > >other donor countries, which have 10 to 20 times higher part of GDP > >than US. One of the holy principles is that it should be spent on the > >best value for the recipient. Completely opposite to US, who have > >strings attached, that will ensure the spending in US and to the > >benefit of US suppliers. It is also some fudging going on with some > >parts of war material included in the US foreign aid numbers. > > > >I did not know that it was systematic down to the state level. LOL > > > >Hakan > > > > > >At 15:42 06/06/2006, you wrote: > > > > > >>When I worked for a US Gov't aid agency, one of my first web jobs was to > >>put together an online map showing hoe US aid benefited each state so > >>the representatives could use it to show that most of the money flowed > >>back to the US. > >> > >>The agency commisioned a survey: Most Americans believed that 10% or > >>more their tax dollars were spent on foreign aid. When asked the amount > >>they thought was reasonable it was between 5-6%. The actual amount then > >>(the 90's) was less than 1/2 of 1%. > >> > >>The key work with Easterly is former. Too radical. > >> > >>As I have said before, I am not an economist but grew up in a house > >>where development economics was discussed endlessly - my father is a PhD in > >>economics and was considered radical in that he thought top-down foreign > >>aid was nuts. He told me one of his semilnal momnets was when, as a > >>freshly minted PhD and very young professor, a student from India got up > >>during a lecture and asked him: "Well, what do you think we in the > >>developing world think of this?" > >>He didn't know. That's not what they taught in graduate school in the > >>late 50's. To his credit he set out to find out. I benefited > >>enormously from this. Our house was usually full of students of all > >>lands. > >> > >>His latest book is very interesting, though not orthodox: > >>Achieving Broad-Based Sustainable Development: Governance, Environment, > >>and Growth With Equity - James H Weaver, Mike Rock > >> > >>In my experience during my second stint in the aid game, our projects > >>were all devised by the local population in a select group of African > >>countries We had a set a metrics - how long has the group been > >>together, have they already had some success, do they have a business > >>plan and so on. Tweaking this was an ongoing process. Even with this > >>my informal feeling was that about 1/3 sailed, 1/3 failed and 1/3 just > >>bumped along. > >> > >>-Mike > >> > >>Hakan Falk wrote: > >> > >> > >> > >>>Keith, > >>> > >>>Looking at is this way, we can be happy that "US aid" per capita is > >>>much lower than many other developed economies. It is apart from > >>>this, a shame to use the little that they give, in the way they do it. > >>> > >>>Hakan > >>> > >>>At 17:39 05/06/2006, you wrote: > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>>>>Well, I'm by no means an expert, but I have worked quite a bit in the > >>>>>"foreign aid" field. > >>>>>It wasn't a total failure by any means, but I'd say out failures > >>>>>outweighed our successes. > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>On the other hand, I suppose you could say that very much of it is a > >>>>great success, since so much "foreign aid" is unabashedly aimed at > >>>>benefiting US interests, like other countries' "tied" aid. > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>>>My father, who is a PhD in Development Economics, and was known as a > >>>>>radical for such dangerous ideas > >>>>>as arguing that money is not the only metric that can be used to > >>>>>determine development, once observed: > >>>>>"The US has never realized that you can't just go in and impose > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>prosperity" > >> > >> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>Yeah. Or democracy, eh? > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>>>In addition to the articles below I recommend the work of Joseph > >>>>>Stiglitz and William Easterly. > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>Both former World Bank officials. > >>>> > >>>>http://snipurl.com/rde2 > >>>>biofuel - Search results for 'stiglitz' > >>>> > >>>>http://snipurl.com/rde4 > >>>>biofuel - Search results for 'Easterly' > >>>> > >>>>Anup Shah gives a good overview, as usual. > >>>> > >>>>Best > >>>> > >>>>Keith > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>>>-Weaver > >>>>> > >>>>>Keith Addison wrote: > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>>>See also: > >>>>>> > >>>>>>http://snipurl.com/rcij > >>>>>>[Biofuel] Bushfood > >>>>>> > >>>>>>http://snipurl.com/rcik > >>>>>>[Biofuel] Myth: More US aid will help the hungry > >>>>>> > >>>>>>http://snipurl.com/rcim > >>>>>>Re: [Biofuel] US Foreign aid > >>>>>>Food Dumping [Aid] Maintains Poverty > >>>>>> > >>>>>>http://snipurl.com/rcig > >>>>>>[Biofuel] The US and Foreign Aid Assistance > >>>>>> > >>>>>>http://snipurl.com/rcih > >>>>>>[Biofuel] Famines as Commercial Opportunity > >>>>>> > >>>>>>http://snipurl.com/rcii > >>>>>>[Biofuel] Famine As Commerce > >>>>>> > >>>>>>http://snipurl.com/rcin > >>>>>>[Biofuel] Inequality in wealth > >>>>>> > >>>>>>--------- > >>>>>> > >>>>>>New at Anup Shah's "Global Issues" web site. > >>>>>>http://www.globalissues.org > >>>>>> > >>>>>>Home > >>>>>>* Trade-Related Issues > >>>>>>* Sustainable Development > >>>>>>* US Foreign Aid > >>>>>> > >>>>>>Is foreign aid failing because of the lack of accountability of > >>>>>>donors as well as problems in recipient countries? > >>>>>> > >>>>>>Much is said of the corruption, lack of democracy and other ills in > >>>>>>developing countries as the reasons for aid and other forms of > >>>>>>generous assistance never working. But, could it also be that the > >>>>>>type of foreign aid (the conditions and prescriptions tied to the > >>>>>>aid) is also a problem? Furthermore, there is very little > >>>>>>accountability to the poor countries if the prescriptions and > >>>>>>policies themselves are not the right ones and good intentions fail. > >>>>>>This and other issues are explored further in the updated foreign aid > >>>>>>section. > >>>>>> > >>>>>>http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Debt/USAid.asp > >>>>>> > >>>>>>Governments Cutting Back on Promised Responsibilities > >>>>>> > >>>>>>* Rich Nations Agreed at UN to 0.7% of GNP To Aid > >>>>>>* Almost all rich nations fail this obligation > >>>>>>* Some donate many dollars, but are low on GNI percent > >>>>>>* Aid beginning to increase but still way below obligations > >>>>>> > >>>>>>* Foreign Aid Numbers in Charts and Graphs > >>>>>> > >>>>>>* Side note on private contributions > >>>>>>* Side Note on Private Remittances > >>>>>>* Adjusting Aid Numbers to Factor Private Contributions, and more > >>>>>>* Ranking the Rich based on Commitment to Development > >>>>>>* Private donations and philanthropy > >>>>>>* Aid money is actually way below what has been promised > >>>>>> > >>>>>>* Are numbers the only issue? > >>>>>> > >>>>>>* The Changing Definition of Aid Reveals a much Deeper Decline than > >>>>>>What Numbers Alone Can Show > >>>>>>* Aid is Actually Hampering Development > >>>>>> > >>>>>>* Aid has been a foreign policy tool to aid the donor not the recipient > >>>>>> > >>>>>>* Aid And Militarism > >>>>>>* Aid Money Often Tied to Various Restrictive Conditions > >>>>>>* More Money Is Transferred From Poor Countries to Rich, Than From > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>Rich To Poor > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>>>* Aid Amounts Dwarfed by Effects of First World Subsidies, Third > >>>>>>World Debt, Unequal Trade, etc > >>>>>>* But aid could be beneficial > >>>>>> > >>>>>>* Trade and Aid > >>>>>>* Improving Economic Infrastructure > >>>>>>* Use aid to Empower, not to Prescribe > >>>>>>* Rich donor countries and aid bureaucracies are not accountable > >>>>>>* Democracy-building is fundamental, but harder in many > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>developing countries > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>>>>* Failed foreign aid and continued poverty: well-intentioned > >>>>>>mistakes, calculated geopolitics, or a mix? > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>_______________________________________________ > >>>>Biofuel mailing list > >>>>Biofuel@sustainablelists.org > >>>>http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org > >>>> > >>>>Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > >>>>http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > >>>> > >>>>Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives > >>>> > >>>> > >>(50,000 messages): > >> > >> > >>>>http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>> > >>>_______________________________________________ > >>>Biofuel mailing list > >>>Biofuel@sustainablelists.org > >>>http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org > >>> > >>>Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > >>>http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > >>> > >>>Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 > >>> > >>> > >>messages): > >> > >> > >>>http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>_______________________________________________ > >>Biofuel mailing list > >>Biofuel@sustainablelists.org > >>http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org > >> > >>Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > >>http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > >> > >>Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives > (50,000 messages): > >>http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ > >> > >> > > > > > > > >_______________________________________________ > >Biofuel mailing list > >Biofuel@sustainablelists.org > >http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org > > > >Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > >http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > > >Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 > messages): > >http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ > > > > > > > > >_______________________________________________ >Biofuel mailing list >Biofuel@sustainablelists.org >http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org > >Biofuel at Journey to Forever: >http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > >Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): >http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
