A Brave New World Chapter Summary

For thousands of years, the world is fighting to escape from poverty and death. The title of the book highlights this great escape, the escape from poverty and unpleasant health. Some countries are already very successful to escape it but most of the world is undergoing and a few ill fated have yet to begin. The author has been broadly optimistic through his portray of victim countries as well as the victor countries. The main thing behind the wellbeing of the world’s habitants is the assurance of health and wealth. World’s average life expectancy, literacy has increased with its increase of average income. Though evidence doesn’t always proof the linear relationship between wealth and human well-being. Moreover, today’s world is also not free

Therefore, though the world may not be merged as one but can’t be a set of isolated islands. Consequently, poverty, infant mortality, inequality are matters of concern not only within countries but also for the whole world. Due to moral imperative, the rich countries of this world trying to help the poor countries through providing more aid. Deaton argues that unfortunately, in most of the cases, foreign aid fails to reduce poverty or positively influence GDP growth rate to the recipient countries. He thinks that global aid generally does more harm than good. Sometimes official development assistance (ODA) does not even go to the low-income countries, because donors are more aware of other things (like colonial ties, politics etc.) rater than poverty. The effectiveness of Aid also depends on the capabilities of recipient countries to use aid properly. But in the case of health aid, the scenario is quite satisfactory. Because due to health aid, millions of children in poor countries get antibiotics and vaccinations, which reduces child and infant mortality and controls the epidemic

He argues that, the main barrier to progress in poor countries is not lack of resources but bad governments, their policy and poor institutions. The stream of foreign aid undermines the incentives of governments to improve their economic systems and to raise money from their own taxpayers. He supports to provide other efforts than foreign aid to low-income countries. He suggests, reforming motivations to drug companies and stimulating trade through reducing trade barriers will allow the developing world to bring its own Great Escape from the long suffering destitution of poor countries.

But I personally disagree with Deaton’s idea on his aid argument. I think reform and reduction of trade restriction with a combination of providing foreign aid can even stimulate more GDP growth in those low income and developing countries. There are lots of studies those found positive relationship between foreign aid and GDP growth rate. For example, the studies conducted by Hansen and Trap (2000), Karras (2006), McGillivray (2005), Burnside and Dollar (2000) and many others found evidence of this positive