Carrots all round

摘要

Cashew nuts still haunt the backers of conditional-aid schemes, which dole out money to poor countries if they meet set criteria. In 1995 the World Bank promised loans to Mozambique if it cut its high export tariff on raw nuts, in an effort to open its economy. Soon the country's once-thriving nut-processing industry was in the doldrums. More than 10,000 workers were out of a job. Such slips have given conditional aid a bad reputation. But a recent report by William & Mary, a university in Virginia, suggests that one idea is working well: the "compacts" of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). Set up by the American government in 2004, the MCC dispenses aid on merit. To qualify for grants, countries must be poor, not too corrupt and meet criteria in 20 areas, including better immunisation and land rights. So far, 25 countries have received more than $9 billion between them.