A Layman's Guide to Structural Adjustment

Abstract

This paper provides a non-technical review of the basic issues related to structural adjustment (SA). It focuses on the economic aspects of SA, attempting to make these intelligible to non-economists. It begins with a sketch of SA: its definition and origin, and the principal features of the programs recommended by the World Bank and the IMF. The main body of the paper then examines some of the principal controversies in three areas: first, the broad assumptions underlying SA programs; second, the percentage of aid allocated to SA; and third, some features of program implementation. Some alternatives to the Bank/Fund approach to SA are briefly examined and the paper concludes by looking at some issues which have been neglected but which merit greater attention.

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