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Obstacles to progress

Distortions

created a sense that 'we' are different from, and superior, to 'them' in ways that are
counterproductive.

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Our findings indicate that the public may be becoming less supportive of maintaining, let

alone increasing, current levels of UK spending on aid, even when people are told how
much is currently spent. This appears to be linked partly to the impact of the financial

crisis and current austerity measures, with many individuals in our workshops stating
that the principle that 'charity should begin at home' is even more important at a time of
economic hardship. It is also connected to increased concerns about waste and

inefficiency in the delivery of aid, a finding previous opinion polling supports. But
something polling and surveys have not highlighted to date is the extent to which some

of the communications and fundraising images NGOs and governments use may have
contributed to public scepticism – the repeated use of images that show people living in

desperate need has created an impression that very little has changed over the past few
decades. “
"Understanding public attitudes to aid and development" 5
Overseas Development Institute

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“ Institutionalised values and principles of equality have a positive effect on Foreign Aid

levels through the effect they have on public preferences. Once institutionalised, values
and principles of equality are transmitted to those exposed to the institutions that

embody them. The public preferences are aggregated back into (foreign) welfare policies
through democratic processes.”

""The Ongoing Debate over the Foreign Aid Regime Remains Trapped in Something of an
Intellectual Vacuum given the Lack of Scholarly Understanding of the Determinants of Foreign Aid
Programs, 302
Zimmerman, Robert.

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Key Criticisms

" Foreign Aid goes from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor

countries."
Rand Paul 303

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