# Foreign aid and defence budgets



## JLB50 (6 Apr 2016)

I see that India in 2015 had a defence expenditure of  $51.3 billion, making it the sixth largest in the world, just behind the UK. As a percentage of their GDP, it's 2%.  Neighbouring Pakistan's defence budget is around 3.5% GDP.  

I find it rather ironic that those two countries who, just a few years ago, were major recipients of foreign aid are now expanding their militaries in a massive way.  India also has quite a robust space program.  Compare all that with Canada's meagre expenditure of 1% GDP (or less) on it's military.

Many will point out that Pakistan has internal terrorism threats they have to deal with.  Also both India and Pakistan have fought one another numerous times in the past five or six decades.  And of course India is worried about China's growing military threat., etc., etc., , etc.

Anyway, there are some very experienced and insightful people people here who probably have more understanding of foreign aid than I have and whether it enables countries to ignore the plight of the needy. Whether it's bilateral or multilateral, government to government  or it involves NGOs, somehow things seem out of whack to me. Or is it just me?  Having said all that, I realize that many dictatorships in the third world get major foreign aid from the developed world. So it's not just India and Pakistan I'm criticizing.

Your thoughts would be appreciated.


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## a_majoor (7 Apr 2016)

Foreign aid is generally counterproductive, and mostly a clever means of money laundering for many third world kleptocracies. For a good writ up of how foreign aid hurts rather than helps people, read: Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa by Dambisa Moyo.

This also hurts us as well, since the flow of tax dollars from our own pockets to foreign aid is a large opportunity cost (monies which are not available to invest in Canada and Canadians). Frédéric Bastiat can provide the explanation here: Ce qu'on voit et ce qu'on ne void pas


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