Advantages of Foreign aid (research paper)

The South Korea is one of the best cases of foreign aid, which was assisted by the other countries’ foreign aid like the U.S. Owing to foreign aid; South Korea has been able developed country today. Recently, South Korea wants to help undeveloped countries which such as Vietnam, Philippine and Myanmar. So, there is constant controversy concerning the foreign aid. Some of critic claims that South Korea gives little foreign aid to other countries. However, they say that South Korea wants to make profit use of foreign aid. Even though many experts support disadvantages of foreign aid, it also has many good ways to help undeveloped countries because it purpose is not profits but relief. Foreign aid can help support to poor countries’ economic system, education system, and medical services and provide food.
According to Shah (2004), “Foreign aid, which can be defined as the transfer of money, goods, and services from one country to another, is an important part of the foreign policy” (para.1). The first foreign aid began in the immerse war. In “A Brief History of U. S. Foreign Aid” the author writes that “Foreign aid began in World War II and evolved through reconstruction after that war, through the Cold War, after September 11, and to the present day” (para. 1). Foreign aid has been around since just after the end of the Second World War. Today foreign aid can be given in a number of areas, including developmental, humanitarian, military, disaster relief, and security. Also, some countries can get benefits from giving foreign aid by promoting the expansion of democracy and free markets around the world. Furthermore, foreign aid is the policy that helps each country having a good relationship. Foreign aid wants to offer technical solutions to social problems without altering basic social structures. Wherever even moderate changes in these social structures were undertaken, for example, the land reforms in Guatemala in the early 1950s, the United States usually forcefully opposed these change. However, one of economist William Easterly and others argue that aid can often distort incentives in poor countries in various harmful ways. Aid can also involve inflows of money to poor countries that have some similarities to inflows of money from natural resources that provoke the resource curse.
At first, foreign aid can help poor countries’ economies. Clearly the most important reason why poor countries seek and accept foreign aid is for the purpose of economic development. There are several economic reasons why poor countries have accepted aid. The first reasons are improve the investment climate and promote entrepreneurship, as well as provide direct support in trade. Usually, advanced countries’ companies has excellent program about teach entrepreneurship and investment. Second reason is enable payment of interest on foreign debt. The poor countries concern about payment of interest because hey find it hard to pay those interest. So, if advanced nations help to poor countries, they have chance to restore stability to the country’s economy. Third reason is supply the lack of domestic resources such as foreign exchange. Therefore, support economy as foreign aid is good for poor countries.
The second reason is foreign aid can offer good quality of education system by building schools or libraries. For example, one hundred years ago, many U.S missionary built schools and libraries in South Korea. Of course, it has reason for engage in Christian mission work. However, it was also dig up hidden talent so it is one type of foreign aid. Those schools and libraries contributed much to the development of South Korea’s economy. Moseley states (2006) “In developing countries, our nation can, with this requested increase in foreign aid funding for education, help meet our international commitment to the goal of Education for All.” (para. 17). Indeed, education aid can make our world better place to live. Education aid can help not only their education system but also their future. Education aid will prove useful some day when poor countries go out into the world. There is no single better investment than ensuring access to a quality basic education for all. Moseley again states “Education builds civil society. It fosters tolerance and understanding, and promotes democratization and stability. An educated citizenry that is capable of making informed decisions, voicing opinions, and holding elected officials responsible is essential for democracy to survive and flourish. And, as secondary school enrollment increases, government corruption decreases.” (para. 13). Therefore, education aid will help not only developing countries’ child but also their countries future.
Third, foreign aid can support medical service to undeveloped countries such as providing vaccine and building the hospitals. No matter how poor countries make effort, they cannot wipe out disease and poverty. Even though they have hospital, their need a technical assistance about new medical technology and have many medical malpractices. Recently, our world brings serious diseases such as AIDS and pathogenic avian influenza. So, we should cooperate with other countries. In 1996, a pathogenic avian influenza was prevalent in South Korea but South Korea could not control that disease. So, that time advanced nations medical departments donated their knowledge about pathogenic avian influenza. It was vary useful to South Korea’s dairy farming. Also, medical aid can help specific countries which meet with a calamity. Especially, they have just experienced a natural disaster. For example, when tsunami disaster took place, it did great damage to the Indonesia, but also other countries’ economies and politics. Typically, the poor are the worst hit for they have the least resources to cope and rebuild. That time a lot of people died and more than ten thousand of people were injured. If other countries did not help them who are Indonesian, they cannot return to normalcy. Moreover, some poor countries do not have medical system. So, advanced nations that have excellent medical techniques should hand over to poor countries about their skills and build hospitals.
The last reason is very important thing that foreign aid can solve the poor countries’ food problems. Many of undeveloped countries cannot solve their food problem so they need help. According to “Commodity Boom Eats Into Aid for World's Hungry” the author said “The United States, the largest donor of food aid, spends about $2.4 billion per year on donations to Ethiopia, Sudan, Afghanistan and other vulnerable nations.”(para. 3). The U.S. spends a lot of budget to food aid because it is very important fact. Therefore, food aid is useful to poor countries because the food is one of the necessities of life. The second reason is it can help a short term. According to World Health Organization (2004) “Starvation is a significant international problem. Approximately 815 million people are undernourished, and over 16,000 children die per day from hunger-related causes.” (para. 4). Therefore, food aid can benefit people suffering from a shortage of food. It can be used to improve peoples' lives in the short term, so that a society can increase its standard of living to the point that food aid is no longer required.
Opponents of getting many benefits from the foreign aid argue that food aid has at times been disastrous for countries in Africa and elsewhere. According to Dilorenzo (2005), “food aid depresses agricultural prices in the recipient countries, driving many of their farmers into bankruptcy, and creating even more dependence on foreign aid” (para.18). The farmers then migrate to the cities to find work, driving up food prices there, which is often met with price controls on food, which creates even more food shortages and appeals for even more foreign food aid. However, this problem is not absolutely true. By supporting by foreign aid, researchers can work on new agricultural technologies that can help poor countries end food scarcity and malnutrition. Among these innovations are improved crop varieties, more effective fertilizers, new livestock vaccines and new food-processing techniques. According to McConnell (2007), Chemist Amit Roy in Alabama works with scientists from many countries to develop a fertilizer that can be absorbed by soil easily and help farmers take full advantage of improved seed varieties on nitrogen-deficient farmland. Because the new fertilizer is more efficient than traditional ones, farmers can use less of it, reducing their costs and residue runoff. Thus, food aid provides benefits the poor countries, and other countries. It develops agricultural technologies which helps those countries to increase and improve production effectively.
In conclusion, these days, foreign aid requires many methods. Also, many developing countries want to receive foreign aid from advanced nations. However, we should always bear in mind that foreign aid is not for their profit and trade, it is to relieve the poor countries. Relieving the poor countries is the international problem. Globalization is the most important issue in the world. However, the advanced nations cannot make globalization without other countries’ cooperation. The achievement of globalization never comes only through a declaration. We should cooperate with whole the world. Therefore, advanced nations should change their thinking about foreign aid which is not for their countries’ profit, for help poor countries’ citizen like those families.

References
Moseley, F. (2006, March 29). State, Foreign Operations & Other Programs. CQ Congressional Testimony. Retrieved September 27, 2007, from Lexis Nexis database.
Dilorenzo, T. (2005 January 6) A foreign Aid disaster in the making. Retrieved September 27, 2007, from www.mises.org/story/1715.
McConnell, K. New agricultural technologies may bring another green revolution. Retrieved September 13, 2007, from http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=September&x=20070911103507AKllennoCcM6.524295e-02.
Shuh, A. (n.d.) A brief History of U. S. foreign aid. Retrieved September 27, 2007, from http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/models/foreignaid/index.html.
Helping through foreign aid. (2006 May 8). Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 3, 2007, from Lexis Nexis database.