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Evaluating Country Programmes
260
– Export promotion. Economists are divided about whether policy alone can produce
desired results, or whether promotion activities are also helpful. In
Costa Rica, promotion clearly reinforced and sped up the growth and diversification
of export production. The evidence is overwhelming that USAID
played a key role in ending Costa Rica’s dependence on coffee, bananas,
sugar, and beef exports. The major share of Costa Rican exports – as well as
the most dynamic part – are now exports of manufactured products to the
industrial countries, non-traditional agricultural exports, and tourism. In all
three areas, Costa Rica’s exports in 1982 were modest, and no institutional
base for developing exports was in place. USAID worked collaboratively to
create the institutional base, and the export results were spectacular (see
Box 11.1).
– Scholarships. USAID sent more than 5 000 Costa Ricans abroad, mostly to the
United States, for study. Unquestionably this substantially increased the
number of skilled people in the society. The upper levels of government,
academia, and other institutions are filled with ex-USAID scholars. In some
years, 40% or more of all Costa Ricans studying in the United States (or more
than one-third of all those studying abroad) were financed by USAID. Agency
approaches appear to have been sound, selecting both strong candidates
and people who would return to Costa Rica after completing their studies.
– Structural adjustment. Costa Rica followed terrible economic policies during
1978-81. The economic situation in 1982 was catastrophic and, without largescale
US support, the country would have had a prolonged depression, from
which it still might not have emerged by 1995. Close personal and professional
relationships between USAID personnel and Costa Rican government
officials appear to have been a major factor in achieving success. This suggests
a comparative advantage for USAID in such programmes, in contrast to
the relatively arm’s length approach of the multilateral agencies, which
frequently leads to open conflict and slow reform.
Evaluation in foreign policy terms
To what extent did aid in the 1980s achieve broad US foreign policy goals? The
answer appears to be: completely. Central America today has democratically
elected governments in every country; economic policies are generally satisfactory;
social tensions have eased; and armed conflict has disappeared from the region
except in Guatemala, where low-level guerrilla activity has been going on for more
than three decades. In sum, Central America is no longer a policy headache for the
US Government–the outcome sought by most members of Congress who voted for
aid to the region. 10
OECD 1999