Birth of an Organization: The Economic Cooperation Administration

O N April 3, 1948, the United States Congress approved the Economic Cooperation Act. Some four months later, by the end of July, the Economic Cooperation Administration was a going concern, complete with organization chart, and had already accumulated a considerable body of experience in the administration of its foreign aid program. The following pages are concerned with some of the events that took place in the creation of the ECA and some of the lessons for or-