Diplomacy, Trade and Aid: Searching for "Synergies"

Canada’s foreign aid could be more effective, were strategies in place that addressed the problem of weak host-country governance, which currently renders aid inefficient or even counter-productive, according to a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Diplomacy, Trade and Aid: Searching for “Synergies,” author John Richards proposes a mix of corporate social responsibility for Canadian firms engaged in trade with low-income countries, diplomatic involvement in aid projects, and aid projects designed to address problems of “weak” host-country governance. A professor at Simon Fraser University's School of Public Policy, Richards is  the C.D. Howe Institute's Roger Phillips Scholar of Social Policy.