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The Business of Aid

As European Union leaders agree a plan of action to deal with the continent's migrant and refugee crisis, what is the best way to help populations in need?

When it comes to helping populations in crisis, is it better to hand out cash or donate goods? It is an ongoing debate in the non-profit sector. Owen Barder, senior fellow and director for Europe at the Centre for Global Development in London, explains why he thinks cash handouts work better.

Also, activist and fund-raiser Dan Pallotta tells us why he believes non-profit organisations should be allowed to take the same risks as private business, and we hear why Phil Buchanan, president of the Centre for Effective Philanthropy, disagrees. Plus, Gilles Carbonnier, professor of development economics at the Graduate Institute in Geneva and author of a book called Humanitarian Economics, tells us how aid organisations and business are increasingly working together.

(Photo: A woman stands next to a red cross tent in a camp for migrants waiting to cross Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni, in northern Greece. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

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18 minutes

Last on

Fri 16 Oct 2015 07:32GMT

Broadcast

  • Fri 16 Oct 2015 07:32GMT

Podcast