Foreign aid evolved from a combination of postwar trends--reconstruction efforts, U.S. foreign policy objectives, post-colonial relations, and humanitarianism. At no prior time has foreign aid played a role in relations among nations; and there are signs--relative stagnation of aid flows,...

In the wake of the emerging market turmoil of recent years, a broad consensus has developed on ways of strengthening the institutional framework to create more robust, and thus more crisis-resistant, economies. But there is no comparable consensus on how best to handle crises once they do erupt,...