A study released late last month by the Hudson Institute found “$62.1 billion in U.S. private donations to developing countries in 2003, the last year numbers are available.”

The report, cited in an op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal, goes on to argue that the formula used by the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) to judge the generosity of various countries “fails to take into account the primary way in which Americans help others abroad: through the private sector.”

And beyond the giving, the report rightly identifies “$51 billion of U.S. private capital flows to developing countries, consisting of foreign direct investment and net capital markets. This private investment creates jobs and economic growth, the surest way to reducing poverty.”