Hey Kevin I do like those points and I think especially number 2 is worth a lot f consideration—not only in unstable and war torn countries but also in stable, stagnant countries like Uganda where I work. Jason’s answer is also excellent.
Agree that number 2 is a very awkward situation, and working in health in a low income country myself I ask myself this all the time. The worst case scenario in terms of propping up a dictator though I think is funding them directly—which a LOT of government to government aid does. Fortunately against malaria foundation don’t give a high proportion of money to evil dictatorships but they do give some. Same goes for deworm the world. I think there should be some kind of small negative adjustment (even if token) from GiveWell on this front.
I find the “economic growth” argument a tricky one as my big issue here is tractability”. I’m not sure we know well at all how to actually stimulate economic growth consistently and well. There are a whole lot of theories but the solid empirical research base is very poor. I’d be VERY happy to fund economic growth if I had a moderate degree of certainty that the intervention would work.
against malaria foundation don’t give a high proportion of money to evil dictatorships but they do give some. Same goes for deworm the world.
I was wondering about this, because I was reading a book about the DRC—Dancing in the Glory of Monsters—which was broadly opposed to NGO activity in the country as propping up the regime. And I was trying to figure out how to square this criticism with the messages from the NGOs themselves. I am not really sure, though, because the pro-NGO side of the debate (like EA) and the anti-NGO side of the debate (like that book) seem to mostly be ignoring each other.
I think there should be some kind of small negative adjustment (even if token) from GiveWell on this front.
Yeah, I don’t even know if it’s the sort of thing that you can adjust for. It’s kind of unmeasurable, right? Or maybe you can measure something like, the net QALYs of a particular country being a dictatorship instead of a democracy, and make an argument that supporting a dictator is less bad than the particular public health intervention is good.
I would at least like to see people from the EA NGO world engage with this line of criticism, from people who are concerned that “the NGO system in poor countries, overall, is doing more unmeasurable harm than measurable good”.
Hey Kevin I do like those points and I think especially number 2 is worth a lot f consideration—not only in unstable and war torn countries but also in stable, stagnant countries like Uganda where I work. Jason’s answer is also excellent.
Agree that number 2 is a very awkward situation, and working in health in a low income country myself I ask myself this all the time. The worst case scenario in terms of propping up a dictator though I think is funding them directly—which a LOT of government to government aid does. Fortunately against malaria foundation don’t give a high proportion of money to evil dictatorships but they do give some. Same goes for deworm the world. I think there should be some kind of small negative adjustment (even if token) from GiveWell on this front.
I find the “economic growth” argument a tricky one as my big issue here is tractability”. I’m not sure we know well at all how to actually stimulate economic growth consistently and well. There are a whole lot of theories but the solid empirical research base is very poor. I’d be VERY happy to fund economic growth if I had a moderate degree of certainty that the intervention would work.
I was wondering about this, because I was reading a book about the DRC—Dancing in the Glory of Monsters—which was broadly opposed to NGO activity in the country as propping up the regime. And I was trying to figure out how to square this criticism with the messages from the NGOs themselves. I am not really sure, though, because the pro-NGO side of the debate (like EA) and the anti-NGO side of the debate (like that book) seem to mostly be ignoring each other.
Yeah, I don’t even know if it’s the sort of thing that you can adjust for. It’s kind of unmeasurable, right? Or maybe you can measure something like, the net QALYs of a particular country being a dictatorship instead of a democracy, and make an argument that supporting a dictator is less bad than the particular public health intervention is good.
I would at least like to see people from the EA NGO world engage with this line of criticism, from people who are concerned that “the NGO system in poor countries, overall, is doing more unmeasurable harm than measurable good”.
The argument I’ve found most persuasive is “it’s easier to fight back against an unjust government if you’re healthy/have more money”.