Second, the claim that there is ‘not much to show for it’ is simply false. Even among the ‘bottom billion’ – the population of countries that have experienced the weakest economic growth over the last few decades – quality of life has increased dramatically. In 1950, life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa was just 36.7 years. Now it’s 56 years, a gain of almost 50%. The picture that Dambisa Moyo paints is inaccurate. In reality, a tiny amount of aid has been spent, and there have been dramatic increases in the welfare of the world’s poorest people.
