In March 2002, President George W. Bush proposed establishing the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), a new foreign aid program designed to provide substantial assistance to a select group of low-income countries that are committed to sound development policies. The MCA could bring about the most fundamental changes to US foreign assistance policy in 40 years.

In this study, Steven Radelet examines the MCA's potential promise and possible pitfalls. He offers a rigorous analysis of the MCA's central challenge: making foreign aid more effective in supporting economic growth and poverty...