U.S. Ranks Near Bottom on Commitment to DevelopmentTop Stories

September 18, 2018 10:59
U.S. Ranks Near Bottom on Commitment to Development

(Image source from: NewIndianExpress)

The United States, the world's most developed country, ranks near the bottom of an index which ranks 27 of the world's richest countries on their dedication to policies that benefit people living in the poorer nations.

The poor performance by the U.S. which was ranked 23rd in the Commitment to Development Index (CDI) was driven by low scores on foreign aid, finance, and environmental policies, according to the annual report released on Tuesday by Washington-based Center for Global Development (CGD).

The CDI, published yearly by the CGD, ranks 27 of the world's affluent countries on their dedication to policies that benefit people living in hapless nations.

Sweden tops this year's CDI, followed by Denmark.

Germany ascents to the dais and shares third place with Finland said the annual report released by the CGD.

In the survey, the U.S. remained in the 23rd place out of 27 rich countries, the report said.

"Good development policy is about much more than foreign aid," said Masood Ahmed, the president of CGD.

"While aid is important, U.S. policymakers need to assess all the ways their choices, from refugee policies to tariffs, help or hinder developing countries," he said.

The U.S. scored well on security and trade, though new duties could drag down the U.S.'s ranking in the forthcoming.

European countries, meanwhile, took the top 12 spots in this year's ranking.

"It's clear that European countries are taking the lead on global development, while the U.S. takes a big step back," said Anita Kappeli, a researcher at the Center for Global Development and an author of the study.

"New tariffs and the U.S.'s impending exit from the Paris climate pact are only going to exacerbate this trend," she added.

Only Poland, Greece, South Korea, and Japan were rated lower than the U.S.

According to the report, while the U.S. is the sizable aid donor in absolute value, in 2017 it provided just 0.18 percent of its GNI (Gross National Income) - for development assistance, far below the international commitment of 0.7 percent GNI and below average for the CDI countries.

It as well executes poorly on technology.

The government, in 2016 provided 0.58 percent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) for Research and Development (R&D) (weighted), below average for CDI countries.

The U.S. could better its score by shifting the R&D from defense to more development-friendly areas, it said.

By Sowmya Sangam

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