Submission Statement: A article arguing why markets and entrepreneurship are the best forms of human development/philanthropy.
ProfessionalMoose709 on
Seems to be a pretty standard argument about how developing countries need industries and economic growth foremost. People have been trying to do this for decades – a big thing in the past was giving development aid to build massive dams, the thought was it would provide a ton of cheap, green power which would enable domestic manufacturing as well as boost the local construction industry.
Sadly, institutional constraints make success difficult. A lot of dictators spent money on useless pet projects, or the power grid wasn’t maintained, or the process of actually starting a business was too difficult and expensive. You need stuff that enables growth: good governance, a consistent rule of law including respect for property rights, sufficiently maintained infrastructure, some acceptance of social mobility, reliable access to credit, a literate populace…
DefiantEmergency3443 on
Reminds me of that West Wing clip of Alan Alda playing the liberal Republican Presidential Candidate Arnie Vinick arguing in a debate that Africa needs Corporate Tax Cuts rather than Aid.
It stayed buried for a long time and then became popular on African social media a while ago.
surreptitioussloth on
I think for normal people not considering working in African aid or starting a company relevant to Africa, it’s probably good to support aid their and to other very poor places
4 Comments
Submission Statement: A article arguing why markets and entrepreneurship are the best forms of human development/philanthropy.
Seems to be a pretty standard argument about how developing countries need industries and economic growth foremost. People have been trying to do this for decades – a big thing in the past was giving development aid to build massive dams, the thought was it would provide a ton of cheap, green power which would enable domestic manufacturing as well as boost the local construction industry.
Sadly, institutional constraints make success difficult. A lot of dictators spent money on useless pet projects, or the power grid wasn’t maintained, or the process of actually starting a business was too difficult and expensive. You need stuff that enables growth: good governance, a consistent rule of law including respect for property rights, sufficiently maintained infrastructure, some acceptance of social mobility, reliable access to credit, a literate populace…
Reminds me of that West Wing clip of Alan Alda playing the liberal Republican Presidential Candidate Arnie Vinick arguing in a debate that Africa needs Corporate Tax Cuts rather than Aid.
It stayed buried for a long time and then became popular on African social media a while ago.
I think for normal people not considering working in African aid or starting a company relevant to Africa, it’s probably good to support aid their and to other very poor places