Header:
Foreign Economic Aid: Should we or shouldn’t we?
Title:
Foreign Economic Aid: Should we or shouldn’t we?
Danielle Harris
Research for the 21st century section 1
Summer 2007
Introduction:
Foreign economic aid is a controversy in the United States. The question of whether we should or shouldn’t provide aid to other countries or how much aid should be provided is always a matter of debate. The focus of my research is on the different aspects of foreign economic aid. What policies are currently in effect in the United States and the criteria, requirements, use, burden and any problems with aid? There are successes and failures that the research will touch on involving Morocco and Uganda. Some other areas the research will cover are discussion on some of the countries currently receiving aid and their economic situations. And information on programs offered in the United States to improve economy, such as unemployment programs, education programs and welfare programs.
Topic Analysis:
· Academic Disciplines
o Social Sciences
o Economics
o Sociology
· Library of Congress Subject Headings
o History of the Americans
§ United States
§ Diplomatic history. Foreign and general relations
o Social Sciences
§ Economic history and conditions
§ Industries. Land use. Labor
§ Economic growth, development, planning
§ Commerce
§ Finance
§ Foreign exchange. International finance. International monetary system
· Key Terms
o Foreign economic aid
o Foreign aid policies
o Foreign economic assistance
o United States and foreign aid
o Economic assistance
o International economic relations
o United States, foreign economic aid, underdeveloped countries
o Foreign services, America
o Economic development
o Foreign aid programs
o Foreign assistance
o United States, International poverty, economic assistance
· Databases/Periodical Indexes
o Proquest
o Advanced Search Premier
o Google
o Google U.S. Government
The discovery of the Library of Congress Subject Headings books made findings subject headings and keywords a lot easier. I was also able to utilize the Library of Congress online from home to obtain more results. http://www.loc.gov/index.html
Best Reference Sources:
Williams, Victoria. "Foreign aid." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 13 Aug. 2007 <http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-9034854>.
This article gives a generalized definition of foreign aid. It discusses the types and purposes of foreign aid, a brief history of foreign aid, and some criticism of aid. This article is very useful in helping to understand and have a general knowledge of foreign aid and is very helpful in developing a thesis.
Liska, George and Gerald M. Meier. “Foreign Aid.” International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. 1968 ed. The Macmillan Company & The Free Press.
This article talks about both political and economic aspects of foreign aid. Discussed are: objectives, types of aid, distribution of aid, military versus economic, control of aid, evolution of aid programs, use of aid and burden of aid. This article gives a historical overview of all the different aspects of foreign aid and provided good information topics to research instead of just researching foreign aid.
Best Books:
Rudel, Ludwig. Foreign aid : will it ever reach its sunset? New York: Foreign Policy Association, 2005.
This is a headline series from the Foreign Policy Association. The author Ludwig Rudel has 25 years experience with USAID and is also a consultant for the World Bank, UNDP and USAID. Some of the content discussed is experiences of past aid programs, economic assistance today, and proposed revisions. This is useful in providing current and past economic assistance policies. I located this book using the Big Bend Community College online catalog, when I used keyword “foreign economic assistance.”
I would like to state that I know I only provided one best book and the reason for this is because I was unable to find any other books that provided me with good information that I could access from my library. Most books were extremely outdated and only provided information on all foreign aid not just economic aid or foreign aid with relation to a certain time period or country. I not only searched my local library’s database numerous times with different keywords which produced the same books every time, I also search different book stores in the area but still didn’t find quite the right ones. I thought it best to provide just one best book as opposed to two not so good ones.
Best Periodical Articles:
Dobbs, Lou. “America the unloved.” U.S. News & World Report 135.12 (2003): 40-40 Academic Search Premier. EBSCO Publishing. Seattle Community College Library, 1 August 2007. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct+true&db=aph&AN=10989367&site=ehost-live>
This article mainly discusses how America has become unpopular in recent years over foreign relations. The most useful information discussed is the figures and amount of money given in aid each year. The United States is one of the biggest contributors of foreign aid. Therefore America shouldn’t care about world opinion.
“Power for good.” Christian Century. 119.9 (2002): 5 Academic Search Premier. EBSCO Publishing. Seattle Community College Library, 1 August 2007. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&dp=aph&AN=6629995&site=ehost-live>
This article discusses the overwhelming power of the United States. If that power could be put to good use a lot could be accomplished. Discusses how Americans don’t have all the information and that most of the foreign aid provided is not economic aid, but “security aid.” This gives information about the lack of knowledge given to Americans about foreign economic aid.
Sachs, Jeffrey D. “The Development Challenge.” Foreign Affairs. 84.2 (2005): 78-90 Academic Search Premier. EBSCO Publishing. Seattle Community College Library, 1 August 2007. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&dp=aph&AN=16291800&site=ehost-live>
This article discusses the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and its organization for economic cooperation. And it gives figures of contributions by the United States. Details how the United States can improve foreign aid. Discusses what America is doing wrong. It discusses details of the U.S. contributions to aid programs and the significance of certain programs.
Best Internet Sources:
United States. United States Bureau for legislative and public affairs information. U.S. agency for international development. 7 January 2005. 8 August 2007 <http://www.usaid.gov/index.html>
USAid.gov provides up-to-date information and a history of economic and humanitarian aid from the United States to other countries. This site will be most useful in my research of foreign economic aid, because not only does it give me a complete history of aid from the United States beginning in 1948 with the Marshall plan. This site provides useful current information about policies today, donor coordination, economic growth and trade, budget evaluations and so much more. I am completely certain that all information is accurate and there is an actual link that provides information on exactly how the website is in compliance with the E-Government act of 2002. The information however could carry a bias because it’s a government website that wants to focus on the good aspects of foreign aid and will be reluctant to give information on what is wrong with it.
United States. Millennium Challenge Corporation. Millennium Challenge Corporation. January 2004. 8 August 2007 < http://www.mcc.gov/>
MCC.gov provides information about reducing poverty through economic growth and is designed to work with some of the poorest countries in the world. The site will be useful when researching foreign economic aid because it provides information about programs provided, selection criteria, and the countries being provided with aid. I can also request complete annual reports, quarterly reports and congressional budget justifications. The site also provides information on how to request a MCC speaker to participate in any event.
Best Non-Print Source:
“Zimbabwe: Shadows and Lies.” Rep. Alexis Bloom & Cassandra Herman. Frontline World. Documentation consortium. PBS. KSPS. Spokane. 27 June 2006. 11 August 2007. < http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/zimbabwe504/video_index.html>
This documentary shows the corruption of the government in Zimbabwe and how the economy has suffered, along with the people. This documentary shows us the horrors of what it is like to live in a country where money is worthless and the economy went from good to bad just because of a leader’s need for power. This video helps illustrate the need to for foreign economic aid to other countries. The reporters of this video literally risked their lives and had to hide their identities in order to obtain the video shots. It is put together most profoundly and the story is being told by the people of Zimbabwe themselves.
Review of my research process:
Researching foreign economic aid was both enlightening and frustrating. Foreign aid is a very old political issue that has been debated for years. There are so many areas of foreign aid that it’s very easy to get lost in all the information out there. I narrowed my search to foreign economic aid, which seemed to help with the research process a little more. The internet was my best friend throughout this experience because most books and resources are outdated. The internet provided the most up-to-date information on this subject.
Since foreign economic aid is a major political issue it is very easy to locate information based on opinion and not facts. It helped me the most to locate government websites that specifically gave me facts and figures. Although still cluttered with opinion, on a lot of articles I was able to gather the facts and leave the opinions behind. However it can be said that this topic cannot be researched without including a lot of the opinions out there because if I tell you that America spends more on providing foreign military aid then economic aid, I cannot tell you based on any fact whether that is a right or wrong decision. It is all up to the researcher.
Lastly I would like to point out that I had no idea there were so many ways to gather information. I would not have been able to provide such a detail pathfinder without the weekly assignments and lesson provided by this class. The research on foreign economic aid was made easier by learning all about keywords, headings and subheadings. I feel comfortable now that I have gathered the most efficient information on this topic and will feel even more confident with any research project to be done in the future.
