Policy dialogue between multilateral institutions and developing countries

The lending criteria applied by the IMF and the World Bank have been converging for some time. Considering also that since the floating of exchange rates in the early seventies the IMF seems to have lost in importance as a monetary institution, debate is growing on the question of whether the Fund needs to correct its policy course, to be assigned new tasks by its member countries or even to be amalgamated with the World Bank into one efficient development aid institution.     

Adjustment policy and interest groups in developing countries

Adjustment programmes promoted by the IMF and the World Bank have met with mixed success in recent years. What part has the interaction of interest groups in the countries concerned played in this connection? What lessons are to be learnt for future adjustment programmes?     

Structural adjustment programmes and industrialization in sub-Saharan Africa

In sub-Saharan Africa, like elsewhere in the Third World, great hopes are attached to industrialization as a means of achieving economic and social development. Are the IMF and the World Bank, via their Structural Adjustment Programmes in the region, helping to create a leaner, more competitive industrial sector or are they in fact weakening the industrialization process?     

Wrong-footing MNCs and local manufacturing: Zambia''s 1992–1994 structural adjustment program

It is now more than five years since the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) came to power after the October 1991 World Bank and IMF “political conditionality” induced democratic elections in Zambia. Under World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) tutelage, the MMD government embarked upon the most far-reaching market-led economic reforms ever seen in Zambia, under the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP). Using evidence from 43 companies and representatives of Zambian industry, this paper argues that the SAP (as implemented) has wrong-footed the manufacturing sector. The paper apportions the bulk of the blame squarely on the shoulders of the Zambian government, for the unrealistic policies and manner in which it has implemented the Neoclassical Counterrevolution Model, also known as market-based SAP reforms.     

Adjustment constraints in developing countries

The debt crisis of the eighties has compelled many developing countries to catch up on a painful adjustment backlog. In addition to traditional stabilization measures sponsored by the IMF, many countries are now acquainted with the structural adjustment programmes of the World Bank. Some have implemented these programmes successfully, others have terminated them after a short period or only partially completed them. What are the reasons for this?     

The Asian miracle and crisis

The high growth performance of a number of South-East Asian countries led to their being baptized ‘miracle growth economies’ by the World Bank. The following paper reviews the theories and stylised facts relating to the sudden reversal in this miraculous growth saga. The reasons for the failure of the first phase of the IMF rescue package are examined and the need for the establishment of a new global financing architecture outlined.     

Reviewing the Policy on Conditionality

Today there is a relatively broad consensus that the traditional approach to conditionality policy, as pursued especially by the World Bank and the IMF, is problematic. In recent years both institutions have reviewed their policies on conditionality. Although this has laid the basis for a new policy, there are a series of issues which need further refinement and thinking. This article outlines some key points for the ongoing debate.     

IMF and World Bank structural adjustment policies: Cooperation or conflict?

The adjustment crisis of the oil-importing developing countries has raised the question as to the specific roles of the IMF and the World Bank in the process of structural adjustment and the actual relationship between their different concepts and programmes. What are the areas of cooperation and conflict between these two institutions and what must alternative concepts for structural adjustment and conditionality take into consideration?     

The IMF and the countries of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance

In November 1981 Hungary and, one week later, Poland applied for membership of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank). These applications have highlighted a subject which had been neglected for quite some time. This analysis deals with the problems and consequences which arise from the membership of countries of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon)—the economies of which largely conform to principles of central economic planning—in IMF, an institution organized according to market principles.     

The World Bank's structural adjustment loans: a critique

Following the introduction of its structural adjustment loans the World Bank became the object of the criticism that had until then been directed only at the IMF and its stabilisation and adjustment programmes. This article shows that structural adjustment loans do in fact take the traditional criticism into account. It then proceeds to analyse the various interests involved in order to highlight the constraints to which the Bank is subject in the formulation of its policy.     

World economic policy—what’s it all about

A world government does not seem to be indispensable for a world economic policy. The work of international agencies, as inter alia IMF, GATT, ILO, WHO, UN Economic and Social Council and World Bank, proves the contrary. Global tasks can in many instances be tackled through treaties and specialized organisations with appropriate mandates.     

Is Vietnam the youngest goose in Japan's flight formation?

Japan was the first country to achieve successful economic development after World War II. The following paper discusses whether the Japanese model of ‘state-led development’ can offer a possible alternative strategy to the neo-liberal recipes of the World Bank and the IMF for systemic transition, taking the example of Vietnam. The author is indebted to Prof. Dr. Werner Pascha, Katrin Wolfart and Elmar Eich for detailed and helpful comments on an earlier draft. He is also thankful to Dagmar Lee for her kind assistance.     

Upping the Ante for Political Economy Analysis of the International Financial Institutions

Public choice analysis has clearly demonstrated the need to consider the roles of rent seeking and bureaucratic self‐interest in influencing the international economic policies of national governments and the behaviour of international organisations. We have reached a stage, however, where more attention needs to be paid to the nature of bureaucratic incentives and the degree of discretion that bureaucracies have under different circumstances. It is suggested that the incentives for budget maximisation are likely to vary substantially from one institution to another. Specifically such incentives seem likely to be much stronger for the World Bank than fot the IMF. The evidence presented by Rolanf Vaubel for budget maximisation by the IMF is critically examined and it is argued that much of this evidence is equally constant with other hypotheses. Thus there is a need for more research on the political economy of the international financial institutions.     

SRI LANKA'S EXPERIMENT WITH DEVALUATION: VAR and ECM Analysis of the Exchange Rate Effects on Trade Balance and GDP

The objective of this study is to empirically analyze the impact of the devaluation of the Sri Lankan currency (rupee) on Sri Lankan trade balance and gross domestic product. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have been promoting devaluation as a policy tool for economic growth and stability in LDCs. However, there is substantial research supporting the “J-Curve” effect and contractionary effects on economies due to devaluation, especially for less developed countries (LDCs). The results show a contractionary impact on the Sri Lankan output.     

Stabilisation and Structural Adjustment in Developing Countries

Abstract

This paper analyses and compares World Bank structural adjustment programmes and International Monetary Fund (IMF) stabilisation programmes in Malawi during the 1980s and Jordan during the 1990s. Both are small aid-dependant economies with a narrow export base making them vulnerable to exogenous shocks. The article pays particular attention to the political economy environment in which reform programmes are implemented and to the role of exogenous shocks, both adverse and favourable, in determining the outcome of the programmes. The sequencing of reforms is also assessed in both countries.     

Future prospects for the CFA Franc Zone

The CFA Franc Zone, with 14 member countries in West and Central Africa, is now entering a phase of restructuring. This is clearly indicated by the debates now occurring in the EC, within the French government, in international organizations such as the World Bank and IMF, and in the CFA Franc Zone countries themselves. What have the benefits and drawbacks of the CFA Franc Zone been? What form might future monetary cooperation between Europe and Africa take?     

西方左翼学者论帝国主义的新特征

西方左翼学者认为,全球化条件下帝国主义出现如下新特征：生产的集中和垄断加剧,金融资本的作用进一步增强;跨国公司成为帝国主义经济活动的主要载体;全球化为帝国主义提供了新的剥削方式,但也使帝国主义矛盾的进一步加深;国际货币基金组织、世界银行等机构成为发达资本主义国家操纵和控制发展中国家经济政策的重要工具;“软实力”和“硬实力”相结合,经济手段和武力干涉交错使用。     

What Impact of the Financial Crisis has on the Exhibition Industry？

Ever since outbreak of the current financial crisis in September 2008, economies in world＇s major countries and regions have been dealt with a heavy blow. According to the forecast made by the International Labor Orga-nization （ILO）, total number of the unemployed in the world shall increase to 210 million with the unemployment rate rising by 6.5% to 7.1%. All these forebode a rather gloomy prospect for employment worldwide.     

Change in climate for foreign invesment in India

In 1991, India's Socialist economy hit its nadir. The pressures of the Gulf War had prompted a run on Indian foreign exchange reserves and forced Indian to seek loans from the IMF and World Bank to bail out the economy. Since then, economic and structural reforms have strenghtened India and made it more attractive to foreign investment. The convertability of the rupee, higher thresholds for foreign ownership, lower customs duties and the abolition of industry licencing have eliminated old investment stumbling blocks. These reforms have made India, says Thomas, an even better investment prospect than China, India's new rival.     

External Sector Adjustment

ABSTRACT

Since 1981 Malawi has been undergoing an extensive economic adjustment programme. A key aim has been to diversify and increase exports. This aim has met with little success. To understand why export businesses have failed to respond to exchange rate changes and other incentives we conducted an export business survey of 51 firms and interviewed government officials, private sector representatives, and IMF and World Bank staff. We found that structural rigidities, particularly infrastructure constraints, are so severe that the impact of exchange rate policies and other incentives on external sector adjustment is very limited. Increased policy attention should therefore be paid to these constraints if the adjustment programme is to succeed.