Who represents the poor?

In a web-only feature for Boston Review, the distinguished Berkeley economist Pranab Bardhan critiques the role of NGOs in global development. He concludes that many NGOs lack democratic accountability, fail to understand the local conditions of the poor, and are unable to address the full spectrum of the needs of those they seek to help:

NGOs have many concrete achievements to their credit. But no cause is lofty enough to permit its missionaries to dismiss the complexity of issues involved in the problems they hope to remedy or the democratic mechanisms and experiments necessary for finding the best way forward for all parties. While I applaud the causes and admire the dedication of many of the activists, my praise often remains muted, when I consider all the limitations of the NGO movement.

Read the rest here: http://www.bostonreview.net/BR36.4/pranab_bardhan_who_represents_the_poor.php.

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