From Structural Adjustment to the Post-Washington Consensus and Beyond: Paradigm Shifts in Development Aid

Matthew Winters, University of Illinois professor of political science, traced the ideology of foreign aid from post-WWII technical assistance through McNamara-era poverty lending, 1980s structural adjustment and the Washington Consensus, to what he called the "post-Washington Consensus consensus": good governance and institutions, renewed poverty focus, and country ownership of aid. He argued that the Millennium Development Goals mostly track economic growth rather than cause it. Spring 2012 series "Creative Approaches to Global Development." Audience questions addressed the environmental consequences of growth and the rise of China, Brazil and other new donors.