Abstract

One can be very critical of the major mantras in the North-South dialogue on foreign aid. The emphasis on democracy and good governance, and the belief in education have to be criticized, as well as the assumption that the adoption of democracy reduces corruption. The systematic attacks against protectionism – although many Western countries, and more recently South Korea, benefited from it in the past – is questionable. Crucial issues like infrastructures and agriculture are hardly mentioned in international conferences and their share in international aid has been shrinking. Yet these are some of the best remedies to alleviate poverty.Gilbert Etienne is Professor Emeritus of Development Economics at the Institut universitaire de hautes études internationales (IUHEI) and at the Institut universitaire d’études du développement (IUED), in Geneva. He is notably the author of Le Développement à contre-courant (Paris, Presses de Sciences Po, 2003) and of Chine-Inde, la grande compétition (Paris, Dunod, 2007).