tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post3288208223714226834..comments2024-03-28T09:22:36.967+13:00Comments on Offsetting Behaviour: Feeling good, doing harm - aid editionEric Cramptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15831696523324469713noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-81212787159424612002011-11-28T07:29:36.950+13:002011-11-28T07:29:36.950+13:00Hi Eric,
I used to consult for an IT company in t...Hi Eric,<br /><br />I used to consult for an IT company in the pacific region fishing industry, and we used to see some blatant examples, from an Economist's perspective, of foreign government domestic trade support masquerading as foreign aid. The Europeans were the worst. The company I worked was a world leader in fishing vessel monitoring systems, but elsewhere around the world indigenous solutions had evolved in different countries as well. The products were of different capabilities and there were some very dog systems out there. <br /><br />One example of misaligned trade motives was a European country offering to a small Pacific Island nation a long term loan on very favourable terms. The catch was the loan could only be used to buy this absolute dog of a system which used technology a good decade behind cutting edge specifications. It "looked like" aid, because the Euro country was helping the poor Pacific Island to manage its fisheries. But in effect it was a subsidy to the foreign manufacturer to continue trading, and maintain profitability, through dumping its inferior product on poor countries.<br /><br />There were other examples I saw, like Asian countries supporting their domestic industry through funding through "aid" capital development within other poor countries, like road or airport building. If they had those countries best intentions at heart, the work would have been delivered from local providers, and stimulate employment activity in the recipient country.James Hoganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05832675898178869721noreply@blogger.com