The Development Trap

by Adam D. Kiš

A wave of optimism is sweeping through the international aid and development industry, championed by leaders such as Jeffrey Sachs and Jim Yong Kim, who believe that poverty eradication could be within our grasp. Yet in stark opposition come those who believe that all international development intervention is hegemonic, paternalistic, and neocolonialist and must be done away with. In this book, the author argues for a middle ground. Poverty is an entrenched, intractable problem that will never be entirely eradicated. However, if we reorientate our objectives in line with realistic goals that improve the way that poverty is confronted on a smaller scale, we can still continue the fight for meaningful change. Using rigorous scholarship illustrated with vivid storytelling and personal anecdotes from fighting against poverty in the field, The Development Trap argues that we need to make progress against poverty on the micro, rather than the macro scale. Instead of shooting for a single overarching end of poverty, our goals must be modest and reachable.

Genres: Economics

190 pages, Hardcover

Published March 8, 2018

Reviews

[Deanita Adharani · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very insightful book. It talks about poverty from the perspective of a professional consultant with strong anthropological mind. A very good reading for idealist people who blindly trust in institutionalized activism and/or believe in systemic reformation as the only cure to treat poverty, and turn it into a more particular reality, taking a closer look about the people, the organization, the industry, and the definition of poverty itself.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book - probably most suited for people thinking about development who don't know much about it. Was insightful and not dry. Sometimes it was difficult to separate the author's experiences from the overarcing story.