Dec 6, 2011
On December 15th the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an innovative U.S. aid agency, is set to announce which countries will receive its unique development assistance. Casey Dunning, policy analyst at CGD and my guest on this week’s Wonkcast, provides insight and recommendations on how these countries will (and should) be selected. I catch Casey shortly after her return from Honduras, where she saw firsthand the positive impacts of an MCC compact on rural development and highway construction.
For those who are less familiar with the corporation, Casey explains how the MCC was officially mandated in 2003 to push the boundaries of how aid is delivered to developing and low-income countries. The MCC offers five-year compacts to developing countries on the basis of how well they perform in three performance categories—ruling justly, investing in people, and economic freedom. The funds that make up each compact are obligated in full to the recipient country at the beginning of each five-year period.
Read a full show summary on the Wonkcast site: cgdev.org/wonkcast