Doing Bad by Doing Good: Why Humanitarian Action Fails
Publisher: Stanford Economics and Finance
Published: May 01, 2013
Number of pages: 272
ISBN-13: 9780804772273
Description: In 2010, Haiti was ravaged by a brutal earthquake that affected the lives of millions. The call to assist those in need was heard around the globe. Yet two years later humanitarian efforts led by governments and NGOs have largely failed. Resources are not reaching the needy due to bureaucratic red tape, and many assets have been squandered. How can efforts intended to help the suffering fail so badly? In this timely and provocative book, Christopher J. Coyne uses the economic way of thinking to explain why this and other humanitarian efforts that intend to do good end up doing nothing or even causing harm.