London--In the New Statesman today, Andrew Mitchell, Secretary of State for International Development, defends increasing foreign aid spending to a legally-binding 0.7% of national output.  But a report* released by International Policy Network, a development think tank based in London, finds the cross-party consensus on this UK aid spending target—which demands an extra £2 billion a year from British taxpayers—makes no sense and is based on a discredited theory.

A World Bank/EC report ahead of a global agriculture conference asks for massive increases in funding, but Caroline Boin points out that government barriers are the leading cause of hunger in the world today.