I have read with great interest a remarkable publication at :

dgAlert for Poverty (abstract)

http://topics.developmentgateway.org/poverty/rc/ItemDetail.do?itemId=1098857

CATO UNBOUND (full text)

http://www.cato-unbound.org/2006/04/03/william-easterly/why-doesnt-aid-work

Why Doesn’t Aid Work?

Report by William Easterly - “I am driving out of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to the countryside. An endless line of women and girls is marching in the opposite direction into the city. They range in age from 9 to 59. Each one is bent nearly double under a load of firewood. The heavy load propels them forward almost at a trot. I think of slaves driven along by an invisible slave-driver. They are carrying the firewood from miles outside of Addis Ababa, where there are eucalyptus forests, across the denuded lands circling the city. They bring the wood to the main city market, where they will sell the load for a couple of dollars. That will be it for their day’s income, as it takes all day to heft firewood into Addis and to walk back”.

(continues)