INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
achieved fast growth and declines in poverty, such as Bangladesh and Ghana, do so thanks to their own wealthy elites and not to outside
Photograph: PRIn his new book, Gambling on Development, Dercon, former chief economist at the now defunct Department for International
countries including China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia and Rwanda not to an enlightened leader but to wealthy elites motivated to bring change
Take a country like India: it never had more than 1.1% of its GNI [gross national income] as aid
Having said that, there are countries [with a committed elite] where aid played a constructive role, and if you think of Ghana and
of African economies, was until earlier this year a policy adviser to foreign secretary Liz Truss, starting the day before the DfID was
merged with the foreign ministry, becoming the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).Arguing that a political and economic
strong institutions at the time of take-off
contrast, Nigeria and Malawi have remained poor
It has had 60 years of peace
They have a democracy, and do transitions of power, but all the time you get more or less the same people in elite back, and the only thing
been exacerbated by access to easy financial returns from oil and minerals to fund the elite, offering few incentives for them to commit to
the more difficult pursuit of development.Dercon, who said he wrote the book not as an academic but a practitioner, has hope for the future
roundup of our top stories from around the world, recommended reads, and thoughts from our team on key development and human rights issues,
This article first appeared/also appeared in theguardian.com
