Podcast Summary: The CGD Podcast
Episode: Is Anyone Listening? US Foreign Aid (Mis)Alignment – Benjamin Leo
Host: Lawrence MacDonald (A)
Guest: Ben Leo (B), Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development
Date: December 2, 2013

Overview

This episode centers on Ben Leo’s forthcoming paper, “Is Anyone Listening? Does U.S. Foreign Assistance Target People's Top Priorities?” The conversation explores the alignment—or lack thereof—between U.S. foreign aid allocations and the actual priorities of people in recipient countries, focusing on data from public opinion surveys in Africa and Latin America.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Misalignment Between US Aid and Local Priorities

• Main Finding:
  Aid is only “modestly” aligned with the concerns of recipient populations, and often not at all in key countries (01:16, 01:30).

• Stylized Facts (01:45):

  • U.S. and broader donor assistance focuses on health and education.
  • Survey respondents prioritize jobs, infrastructure, and—specific to Latin America—crime.

  “Foreign assistance tends to focus on health and education and people's concerns tend to be jobs, infrastructure, in the case of Latin America, crime. And so there's a mismatch.”
  —Lawrence MacDonald (01:45)

• Surveys Reveal Persistent Gaps:
  Public attitude surveys (Afrobarometer, Latinobarometer) over the past decade show health and education are rarely the top issues for people—usually in the single digits for Africa (03:34).

  “It's always been jobs, the economy. In Latin America, it's crime, and in Africa, it's infrastructure.”
  —Ben Leo (02:09)

• Example Data:

  • Early 2000s: 1 in 10 Africans said infrastructure was the primary concern.
  • More recently: 1 in 5 (20%) cite infrastructure as the most pressing national issue (03:34).

• Why the Disconnect?

  • People may see jobs and opportunity as the foundation for tackling health and education needs (05:00).
  • There’s a self-reliance mentality: more economic opportunity enables people to pay for their own health and education (05:00–05:54).

Why Is US Assistance Misaligned?

• Complex Reasons (06:10):

  1. Domestic Political Pressures:

     • Strong advocacy for health/education among US constituencies makes donor focus on these areas more politically saleable (06:10).
     • Congressional staff question how to justify funding jobs/infrastructure abroad when domestic needs loom large (06:10).

  2. Bureaucratic Inertia:

     • Institutional structures and career incentives have ossified around health and education programs (06:10–07:59).

  3. Simplicity of Measurement:

     • Health programs (e.g., buying vaccines) have clear, measurable results, which is attractive in an environment demanding accountability (08:33).
     • Economic development (jobs/infrastructure) is less direct and more complex in its outcomes (08:33).

  “Over time there's been a greater orientation towards assistance that is pretty straightforward in terms of delivery. So inputs leading to outcomes, you find that in the health sector... In other areas like jobs, it's much more complicated.”
  —Ben Leo (08:33)

• Not a Zero-Sum Game:
  Leo is clear he’s not arguing for the cessation of life-saving health aid, but for a broader, more responsive approach (08:33).

Philosophical Divides in Development Aid

• Some analysts question if aid works at all, arguing for a shift towards non-aid policies (trade, intellectual property, emissions) and cautioning against undermining local solutions (10:01–11:43).
• Ben Leo acknowledges these debates but points to practical successes—such as targeted development finance (OPIC) that has improved electricity access and spurred business in places like Togo (11:43).

The Data Challenge

• Geographical Limitations:
  • Robust public opinion data is missing for key regions like East Asia and South Asia (14:52).
  • Most US foreign aid, outside of "war zones," still goes to Sub-Saharan Africa (15:04).

Policy Recommendations (16:25–25:49)

Ben Leo offers six concise, actionable recommendations:

1. Require Regular Citizen Surveys (16:25):

   • Decision-makers should routinely incorporate local public opinion into aid allocation.
   • Afrobarometer surveys are already USAID-funded but largely ignored in planning (17:07).

   “Having at least the information about what people say in the hands of decision makers is a good thing.”
   —Ben Leo (16:25)

2. Recalibrate Health Assistance Programs in Africa (17:40):

   • Gradually transition some health (especially HIV/AIDS) funding back to national governments, where feasible, to free resources for locally prioritized sectors (19:24).
   • This transition must be handled carefully to avoid reversing health gains (19:50).

3. Increase Support for the African Development Bank (20:17):

   • The AfDB, which is majority African-controlled, aligns much better with public priorities—especially infrastructure and jobs (20:38).

   “It's Africa's bank focusing on African priorities.”
   —Ben Leo (21:29)

4. Expand Private Sector-Based Development Tools—e.g., OPIC (21:33):

   • OPIC (now DFC) is financially self-sustaining, crowds in private capital, and is positioned to support economic development without adding to the US deficit (21:50).
   • Bottleneck: Not enough staff to allocate available capital.

   “If it got more staff, it could significantly increase its investments…and what ordinary people care the most about.”
   —Ben Leo (21:50)

5. Combat Crime and Insecurity in Latin America (22:48):

   • US should increase support where crime is the overriding concern (e.g., Honduras), but the approach needs sensitivity to context given past negative legacies (23:14).

   “Take Honduras…last year the US spent essentially no money on crime and security issues in Honduras, even though it's at the top of the list.”
   —Ben Leo (23:45)

6. Better Leverage the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) (24:50):

   • MCC, which mandates country-led priorities, is uniquely well-aligned with recipient preferences, especially in jobs and infrastructure (25:09).

   “There is definitely an MCC effect…I find, in terms of alignment.”
   —Ben Leo (25:09)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It depends on the country, it depends on the region, but there are some major African and Latin American countries where very little of US assistance focuses on what the people care the most about.”
  —Ben Leo (01:30)

• “The US Government already is commissioning Afro barometer. USAID pays for it, but it's not being fed into US Government decisions.”
  —Ben Leo (17:07)

• “OPIC is a fantastic tool. Not only does it not cost taxpayers anything, it actually reduces the deficit when profits go back into the U.S. treasury.”
  —Ben Leo (21:50)

• “When the U.S. has addressed local concerns in a more forceful way, almost always it's because of the MCC. The MCC focused on infrastructure and jobs and when the US has not had the MCC engaged, alignment is significantly lower.”
  —Ben Leo (25:09)

• “If this paper helps to advance the discussions that aren't or start the discussions that should be already taking place, then I will consider it a success.”
  —Ben Leo (26:23)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro & Framing of the Mismatch: 00:12–02:09
• Survey Data Discussion: 03:20–04:30
• Why Misalignment Exists: 06:10–08:33
• Measurement & Bureaucratic Incentives: 08:33–10:01
• Debating the Value of Aid: 10:01–13:05
• Policy Recommendations and Explanations:
  • Surveys: 16:25
  • Health Recalibration: 17:40
  • African Development Bank: 20:17
  • OPIC: 21:33
  • Crime in Latin America: 22:48
  • MCC: 24:50
• Closing Thoughts: 25:49–28:14

Final Reflections

Both host and guest underline the “obviousness” and importance of using local data to shape aid but express surprise at how little it figures into actual policy. Lawrence MacDonald highlights the simplicity and significance of Ben Leo’s approach—matching aid to stated recipient priorities:

“Once you hear it, you can't forget it. I guess… it has this sort of simplicity about it, combined with the sophisticated instrumentation looking at everything that I just think is terrific.” (27:22)

Takeaway:
U.S. foreign assistance would better serve its intended beneficiaries by actively using public opinion research from recipient countries—and by recalibrating to address jobs, infrastructure, and security in line with what local people say matters most. Ben Leo’s work calls for both technical and political change to move beyond well-intentioned but often misdirected aid.