Lant Pritchett on Why Foreign Aid Misses the Point

Lant Pritchett on Why Foreign Aid Misses the Point

From The Good Fight by New America

May 2, 2026 · 1h 8m

About this episode

Yascha Mounk and Lant Pritchett discuss the shortcomings of traditional foreign aid and the importance of building state capability for development.

Yascha Mounk and Lant Pritchett discuss why development requires building state capability, not just charitable interventions. Lant Pritchett is a development economist from Idaho. Having now thrice retired, he is currently a Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics in the School of Public Policy and the co-founder and Research Director of Labor Mobility Partnerships (LaMP). In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Lant Pritchett discuss why the traditional foreign aid approach to development is fundamentally misguided, how countries actually achieve prosperity through organic national transformation, and whether the classic path to development remains viable in the 21st century. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following ⁠this link on your phone⁠. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Apple⁠ | ⁠Google⁠ X: ⁠@Yascha_Mounk⁠ & ⁠@JoinPersuasion⁠ YouTube: ⁠Yascha Mounk⁠, ⁠Persuasion⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠Persuasion Community Learn more about…

People in this episode

Host: Yascha Mounk

Guest: Lant Pritchett

Topics covered

  • foreign aid
  • development
  • state capability
  • national transformation
  • prosperity
  • 21st century

Keywords

  • foreign aid
  • development economist
  • state capability
  • national transformation
  • prosperity
  • 21st century

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: London School of Economics, Labor Mobility Partnerships

Places: Idaho

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