Why is Africa so poor? This is not an uncommon question because it seems as though Africa has not developed very much at all and continues to be impoverished. Poverty reduction and ultimately eradication is a central concern for developing countries and developed counties alike. Economists, specifically those that focus on development have been asking how to alleviate poverty for a great deal of time. The solution up until now has been foreign aid. However, considering the trillions in foreign aid that have been poured into developing countries the results have been disappointing. Especially in Africa, as of 2012 the population of Sub-Saharan Africa was 910.4 million, but 48.5% of the population was living off of $1.25 a day as of 2010 (World Bank). This is disillusioning because the majority of African nations are aid dependent and yet the average African citizen has such a low standard of living. Although, progress has been made and some African countries such as South Africa, Botswana and Kenya have made great strides, it has not been widespread across the continent and nowhere near where it should be. .
The role of foreign aid in poverty reduction is certainly relevant to several areas of the world, but I have chosen to focus on Africa because it is most peculiar due to the unique history and situation that it is in. Thus, this issue is of great urgency and importance because the international community cannot continue to donate with the hopes and expectations of progress and then not check or reflect upon the results or lack thereof. I will evaluate different arguments by leading economists on the subject, Jeffrey D. Sachs, William Easterly, and Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee. One of the leading experts on sustainable development and poverty, Jeffrey D. Sachs is a staunch proponent of more aid. Contrary to Sachs, William R. Easterly argues for a more tailored and small scale approach to aid.