By coincidence I got to see the Bahamian premiere of Poverty, Inc last week at the Bahamas International Film Festival.

The film posits that the many government aid agencies and NGO's might just be a significant part of the problem when we consider that after 40 years there has been minimal, if any improvement at all.

Watch the trailer below.

Now for the second coincidence.

A friend sent an article along from the Economist entitled, Poor behaviour, Behavioural economics meets development policy.  Read it here…

Had I not seen Poverty, Inc where local farmers and other entrepreneurs have been put out of business because of the unintended consequences of the West's generosity I might have bought into the plausibility of the state being able to "tweak" behaviours with more handouts.

It hasn't worked in 40 years, why should we believe just a little more tweaking with handouts will suddenly create a better outcome for those in poverty?

Poverty, Inc is an eye opener and makes us think about the business of poverty differently.

If the West's honest desire is to help, and I believe it is, we need a re-think, as Poverty, Inc encourages us to do.