My friend Josh Good over at AEI’s fantastic Values & Capitalism project just sent around an interview with Peter Greer. According to Values & Cap, Peter is President and CEO of HOPE International, a global non-profit organization focused on alleviating both physical and spiritual poverty through Christ-centered microfinance in some of the most challenging places around the world, including Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Haiti.
If you like thinking about responsible, church-friendly, gospel-driven social justice work that is friendly to entrepreneurship and aware of the power of the market to affect health for individuals, this will be like catnip to you. I found Greer’s answers manifestly biblical and helpful. Here’s a snatch from the broader interview (and see these helpful thoughts on the D’Souza scandal):
What are the economic realities that shape the way that HOPE International conducts its work across the globe?
Aid is broken. Economist Bill Easterly writes that despite a massive increase in aid to Africa over the last 40 years—$568 billion—most African countries are not better off. In fact, many growth rates have plummeted.
We have sufficient data to know that the only way for an economy to grow is through the private sector.
The Brookings Institution reports that since 2005, 70 million people each year are escaping poverty. According to the 58: campaign, between 1981 and 2005, extreme global poverty was cut in half, from 52 to 26 percent. This progress is largely the result of investments and job creation.
Consider China. Thirty years ago, China had more people, percentagewise, living in poverty than every country except four. Today—through economic growth—poverty has been reduced from 84 to 16 percent, according to the World Bank.
Today even Africa is poised for change. Private investments have generated more than 1.7 million jobs (from 2003 to 2010)—bypassing the effect of aid, according to the 2011 report published by Business Action for Africa and Ernst & Young.
Job creation and investments, not aid, is what will cause Africa to experience growth, development and a much brighter future.
owen strachan 