Aid & Bad Government

In the WSJ Iqbal Quadir writes:

Tragically, the Cold War aid approach actually preserves suffering in poor countries. Aid empowers bureaucracies, promotes statism, and weakens government incentives to boost tax revenues through growth. Economic assets are often kept in the hands of the state, leading to monopolies, stagnation and extortion. All of this hurts entrepreneurs, who have the potential to create wealth and promote governmental accountability.
The history of Western economic and political advancement illustrates that it is the economic strength of citizens -- not governments -- that gives rise to checks and balances...[continue reading]