DEVELOPMENT REPORT - Gains in Aid for Poor Nations Fuel Talk

DEVELOPMENT REPORT - Gains in Aid for Poor Nations Fuel Talk of 'Dutch Disease'
By Jill Moss¹

Broadcast: Monday, July 25, 2005

I'm Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Development Report.

Earlier this month, leaders at the Group of Eight meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland, agreed to increase their foreign aid. They promised to double aid for Africa by two thousand ten.

Last year, official development assistance worldwide came to a total of seventy-nine thousand million dollars. In five years, the amount should be around fifty thousand million dollars higher.

These numbers are all estimates from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Richard Manning of the O.E.C.D. says Africa is expected to receive an additional twenty-five thousand million dollars. That will bring the level of aid to the continent to around fifty thousand million dollars in two thousand ten.

But there is a danger when nations receive too much money, too fast. There is even a name for it: "Dutch disease." Finance and Development, a magazine of the International Monetary² Fund, defined the term as "too much wealth managed unwisely."

Dutch disease was first observed in the Netherlands in the nineteen sixties. At that time, large amounts of natural gas were discovered under the North Sea. Profits from oil exports flowed into the Dutch economy. This is good, right?

Not necessarily. The foreign exchange value of the Dutch guilder unexpectedly became stronger. As a result, exports other than oil became less competitive. Manufacturing suffered.

The causes of Dutch disease are complex to explain. Simply put, it describes harmful effects when money enters an economy faster than the economy can swallow it. Economists³ say Dutch disease can also happen with increases in economic aid.

I.M.F. economists Raghu Rajan and Arvind Subramanian released two studies shortly before the Group of Eight conference. The economists say it is difficult to find a relationship, good or bad, between aid and economic growth.

They say that for aid to be more effective in the future, policymakers must deal more seriously with important questions. These involve how the aid is given as well as the competitiveness of the economy. Mister Subramanian says the findings support current efforts "at national and international levels to improve aid effectiveness."

This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss.  I'm Steve Ember.

1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

2 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

3 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》