Looking at the economics of aid

Alison Vicary during a recent trip to Thailand

Proving that economists do more than just sit behind desks all day, PhD candidate Alison Vicary spends three to four months a year in Thailand providing assistance to non-government organisations (NGOs).

Vicary uses her analytical skills to assess governance in NGOs assisting Burmese exiles living in Thailand. She works with groups including a women's organisation providing services to its members, political exiles and sex workers, a US-run international rescue committee operating health programs in refugee camps, and a United Nations-sponsored group providing translation and other assistance for migrant workers.

"Many of these people are in pretty dire circumstances," says Vicary. "But I like the mix on the ground, and the young men and women that I work with. A lot of them are really bright, but have limited access to education, together with respect for it. We spend lots of time debating."

While in Thailand she is sensitive to how she is perceived. "You shouldn't walk in as the outside expert, as if your education and English language capacity immediately confer some status on you. People pick up on this really quickly. They know where they are in the world, so anyone coming in and looking down on them or telling them what to do is unacceptable," she says.

Vicary has become interested in governance problems in these types of groups, and how to improve services for recipients. Sometimes aid can actually make things worse.

"Aid agencies don't tell you about their mistakes," she comments.

In the NGOs, there are many arguments about wasted resources and the benefits obtained by some who run the groups. Vicary has recently begun a project on mass organisations inside Burma that work with the military regime and receive UN funding for health work.

"The Government says to the leadership, 'if you clean up the local lake, we will give you business privileges'. Then they round up their members - most of whom are forced to join - to work without pay."

Vicary is pleased to be using her economic expertise to look at regions and situations which don't usually get attention. She also likes to give something back. For instance, she held a seminar outside the camps for the women's organisation, concentrating on federation and its relationship to economic policy formation.

She is also involved in dialogue with her academic colleagues, through an online journal www.econ.mq.edu.au/Burmaeconomicwatch

"Through this we're reaching a group of people who are interested in what we're doing and can exchange ideas with us," she says.

"On a personal level, I find it more interesting and satisfying to be doing on-the-ground work rather than just being inside an office or a library," she says. "I would encourage people interested in economics to enter the field. Economics has a great skills base, and its techniques can show amazing things. But don't be too idealistic! Too much idealism brings expectations that are not going to be satisfied."

For more information on programs offered within the Department of Economics visit http://www.econ.mq.edu.au

More Business and Law stories here