Challenging Foreign Aid: A Policymaker's Guide to the Millennium Challenge Account

Abstract

In March 2002, President George W. Bush proposed establishing the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), a new foreign aid program designed to provide substantial assistance to a select group of low-income countries that are committed to sound development policies. The MCA could bring about the most fundamental changes to US foreign assistance policy in 40 years.In this study, Steven Radelet examines the MCA's potential promise and possible pitfalls. He offers a rigorous analysis of the MCA's central challenge: making foreign aid more effective in supporting economic growth and poverty reduction in the poor countries. He systematically explores what makes the MCA different and pinpoints the critical issues that will determine its success or failure.The book concludes with important recommendations about how the MCA should be strengthened to solidify its innovation and independence and to ensure coordination with other US foreign aid programs. Written at a practical level, this book is an invaluable resource for anyone seriously interested in the MCA and US foreign assistance policy.

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