Professor William Easterly talks with students Kleydis Radomi, Vania Legall and Kayla Jackson (from left to right). Courtesy of Sophia Olsen.

As a freshman at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, William Easterly had no idea his career path involved economic development. He liked math and cared about social justice, but wasn’t sure exactly where those could be put to use until the end of his sophomore year.

Eight years later he was working at the World Bank.

For 16 years, Easterly was a Research Economist at the institution that distributes grants and loans to developing countries across the world.

But eventually he realized many of the projects financed by the World Bank weren’t working. This was what Easterly discussed in his lecture at the University of Hartford on April 27.

But let’s back up a bit. When Easterly arrived at the University in the early afternoon, he had lunch with Economics Professor Jane Horvath, Economics Major Natalie Dukette and… well, me. I was able to tag along so that I could ask questions to write this article.

When asked what motivates him to stay in economic development, Easterly remarked, “It’s a field that attracts a lot of bad ideas, so you can always find bad ideas to expose and keep trying to think of better ones.”

As a writer, I was intrigued by how clearly Easterly explains complex issues of economic development in his books and other publications. He told me that he got this skill from his time at the World Bank.

“We wrote things for the general audience so we had editors come in and make it more understandable. I would submit what I thought was good writing and it would come back with a lot of red ink.”

The writing lessons weren’t enough to keep him at the World Bank, though. Easterly left the institution in 2001 after noticing how much of their funds were being misused or were ineffective. He has also recently expressed views that Western donors tend to be coercive and patronizing, usually offering “technocratic solutions” that don’t address the root of the problem: poor people’s lack of economic and political freedoms.

When I asked if he knows anyone who left the World Bank for the same reasons he did, he laughed and exclaimed, “All my friends left!”

Easterly advocates for “homegrown solutions” where the people being effected by the policies “have the option for which path to choose.”

When Dukette mentioned that the reason for many donations from the West are for “the psychic aspect of helping others” rather than how well the aid actually works, Easterly nodded enthusiastically.

“Exactly. The thing about giving is it’s often more about oneself than the receiver.”

Later in the day, Easterly attended Horvath’s Economic Growth and Development class, a seminar with 12 Economics and Finance, International Relations and Politics and Government majors. Students had the chance to pose questions to the world-renowned economist in an intimate setting before his lecture later that evening.

Questions ranged from whether regional development banks would be more effective than the World Bank to whether autocracies can achieve economic development (to which Easterly responded “it would be hard to attract intellectuals to some” and “yes – just look at South Korea”).

Student Vania Legall told the economist, “Coming from a developing country myself, at first I was opposed to your arguments against giving aid…but after I kept reading I realized there is a lot wrong with the way aid is given, and the governments often misuse the money once they get it.”

Easterly noted that yes, governments often spend loans irresponsibly, but institutions like the World Bank are also at fault for continuously giving aid to corrupt governments. “There is responsibility on both recipient and donor. There is often too much blame on the recipient alone. The U.S. often supports corrupt leaders for personal strategic advantage.”

The group also addressed incentives, debt relief, cultural factors in development and how flexible aid should be.

At the end of the class period, it was Easterly’s turn to ask the students a question. He asked them to tell him the most important thing they learned from the Economic Growth and Development course.

Most students concurred that they learned there is no “silver bullet” to any development problem. Legall pointed out that economic growth doesn’t necessarily mean development and Manuel Barrientos stated that high GDP doesn’t necessarily mean that country’s citizens have a high standard of living.

Senior Kayla Jackson added, “I’ve learned that you need to look at individuals’ lives and put yourself in their shoes, because looking solely at numbers you can’t truly conceive the extent of the problem.”

Easterly was so fond of this answer that Legall suggested it be the topic of his next book.

After Easterly left the classroom, two students specifically noted how proud they were that they were able to hold a conversation with him.

Senior Economics and Finance major Eric Acheampong said, “During the semester we have read his work and hearing his opinions on foreign aid and economic development in person was a really cool experience. We were able to ask questions we wouldn’t have been able to before this course.”

Jackson, who is a double major in International Studies and French, agreed. “For me, it was really amazing to feel that we have learned so much this semester that we can have an intellectual conversation with such a famous economist. The youth is the future, and today showed me that we can not only be taught but we can teach.”

Most students in the class joined faculty, staff and community members at Easterly’s lecture in Wilde Auditorium. After giving his lecture, Easterly opened the floor for questions, and let Jackson ask the last one. She asked if more representative government in developed countries would make development efforts more effective.

Easterly agreed in a sense, though he reiterated his belief that development has to be a homegrown effort. “Middle-aged white men like myself need to stop trying to make policies for countries in Africa and Latin America. The women in those countries need to have a say, the poor in those countries need to have a say.”

As the development economist was riding back to his home in New York, students who had a one-on-one chat with Easterly were still geeking out, some of them posting pictures with him on social media and making their equally nerdy friends jealous. And I’ll admit, I was one of them.