Policy Forum: Economic Development: Trade or Aid? Aid versus Trade: Some Considerations

Trade is the engine of development. The biggest thing the developed world can do to alleviate poverty is remove trade barriers. The benefits of that are infinitely better than direct aid. It is trade, not aid, that holds the key to creating jobs and raising incomes. … we are very clear that it is through trade, much more than through aid, that we can enable the poorest people in the poorest countries of our world to start that journey of modernization, of economic reform—a pathway out of poverty and into prosperity.