This essay will evaluate whether Trade or Aid is the best option for LEDC’s and recognise the positives and negatives for both. it is often debated which is a more effective way to help LEDC’s out of poverty and strengthen their economy.
Currently, the UK gives aid to Afghanistan. The UK is the fourth largest donor to Afghanistan behind Germany, Japan and the USA. Between 2003 and 2012 Afghanistan received a total of $46 billion in official development assistance (ODA), making it the largest recipient. The UK provides emergency aid and long-term aid to countries in need. 1.4% of all Government spendings goes to International Aid (10.3bn); Afghanistan receives £182m of this and is one of the Countries that the UK sends most money for Aid to Afghanistan was classified as a fragile state in 2013 in the 2014 OECD Fragile States report; one of the main reasons Afghanistan is in need of aid is for the damages of natural disasters. An average of 471,539 people a year have been affected by natural disasters in Afghanistan over the last 10 years. Emergency aid allows the
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“We give aid to Africa with one hand, and take it back with the other” Sara Blackmun, USA. This is explaining how Aid may not be generous at all since this is referring to conditional trade. Aid increases dependency of LEDC’s to more developed countries since the aid given may be a loan rather than a gift. Therefore they may struggle to repay, which can then result in leaving the country in debt. This puts political pressure on the country, as they owe the donor country money or a favour. On the other hand, aid can be the first step into helping a country like Afghanistan out of large-scale poverty. The money could put towards developing natural resources, agriculture for food production and encouraging industrial development, which provides jobs, and transport infrastructure. To many people, aid is seen as only a temporary