Right now, more resources and money flow from the global South to the global North each year than the other way around. This might be surprising to hear, because we are accustomed to the familiar narrative that emphasises all the aid that rich countries give to poor countries, which amounts to around $130 billion a year. But that flow of aid – and even the flow of private investment, which adds up to another $500 billion a year – is outstripped many times over by flows that are siphoned in the other direction. There is a net drain from poor countries to rich countries.
