Relevant to the discussion is a recently released book by Dirk-Jan Koch who was Chief Science Officer in the Dutch Foreign Ministry (which houses their development efforts). The book explores the second order effects of aid and their implications for an effective development assistance: Foreign Aid And Its Unintended Consequences.
The west didn’t become wealthy through marginal health interventions, why should we expect this for Sierra Leone or Bangladesh?
Second-order effects are important and should be taken into as much consideration as the first-order effects. But arguing that second-order effects are more difficult to predict, and we therefore shouldn’t do anything falls prey to the Copenhagen Interpretation of Ethics.
Relevant to the discussion is a recently released book by Dirk-Jan Koch who was Chief Science Officer in the Dutch Foreign Ministry (which houses their development efforts). The book explores the second order effects of aid and their implications for an effective development assistance: Foreign Aid And Its Unintended Consequences.
In some ways, the arguments of needing to focus more on second-order effects are similar to the famous ‘growth and the case against randomista development’ forum post.
The west didn’t become wealthy through marginal health interventions, why should we expect this for Sierra Leone or Bangladesh?
Second-order effects are important and should be taken into as much consideration as the first-order effects. But arguing that second-order effects are more difficult to predict, and we therefore shouldn’t do anything falls prey to the Copenhagen Interpretation of Ethics.