Rajiv Shah was confirmed as the Administrator for USAID on December 24th by unanimous consent in the Senate. Here are some related articles:
Smarter foreign aid: How to fix USAID, by David Beckmann of Bread for the World and MFAN.
Raj Shah and America’s Development Future by Bill Frist
Other development policy-related news
LOCAL NEWS
Seattle-based company WorldLink Education strands students in China.
Food coop PCC (also based in Seattle) criticizes Gates Foundation’s approach to agriculture.
COPENHAGEN
Climate talks: Clinton promises aid to poor nations – but China may resist
Adapting to less money and more migrants. The developed countries have less money to help poor countries, and there are going to be a lot more climate change refugees.
FOREIGN AID
Book Review: Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How There Is A Better Way for Africa by Dambisa Moyo; and Enough: Why the World’s Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty by Roger Thurow and Scott Kilman. Both books discuss the problems with foreign aid and have different controversial solutions. Dambisa Moyo suggests that Africa would be better without foreign aid, and Roger Thurow and Scott Kilman have ideas to reform aid.
CGD and Foreign Policy magazine award annual Commitment to Development award to Diego Hidalgo Schnur, a Spanish philanthropist, academic and businessman.
New details on Obama’s aid package for Pakistan.
JUST KIDDING
William Easterly pokes fun with How to Write about Poor People.