The modern era of U.S. foreign aid goes back to the end of World War II and the Marshall Plan to rebuild Western Europe. Widely regarded as a great success, the Marshall Plan received, on average, more than 1 percent of the United States' annual wealth between 1947 and 1953, as measured by gross national product (GNP).
The U.S. is now wealthier than it was during the years after World War II, but government spending on international aid has fallen to about 0.16 percent of GNP, just ahead of last-place Italy with 0.15 percent. Norway, the most generous donor nation, allocated 0.87 percent of GNP to official development assistance (ODA).
Some say this isn't an accurate or fair way measure of American aid, since it doesn't include private donations and other types of contributions.
Yet, others point out that, even when generous estimates of U.S. private giving are factored in, Americans' aid to developing countries falls short of 0.7 percent of GNP — the figure the U.S. said it would make "concrete efforts" to reach during the United Nations' 2002 International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico.
Most experts agree that America can afford to make this level of investment without damaging its own economic interests.
