? International Monetary Fund
The intended purpose of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is to maintain global economic stability.
The IMF coordinated a rescue operation with the aide of private banks, governments and managed to restore the major debtor's ability to pay in the short term and for the time being an economic collapse was averted.
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The IMF supported initiatives that have reduced the outstanding external debt of 26 countries by two thirds). In Uganda, school enrolment has tripled; Mozambique has seen about half a million children vaccinated against deadly but preventable diseases, and in Honduras children have 3 extra years of free primary school education. (IMF 2001
? What went wrong?
One index that substantiates the effectiveness of SAPs is the number of countries that continue to be ?customers' of the IMF which itself shows that the Fund is not helping to solve structural problems revealed by debt crises (Körner et al, 1984)
The sharp disparity between the expected results of SAPs and their actual results has led to the ?endemic perspective that the stabilization and adjustment policies widely adopted in Africa have not succeeded in restoring growth in most countries, in fact they are tantamount to economic deterioration' (Stewart, 1991)..
Characteristics of Structural Adjustment Programmes
? Stabilising measures
The revival of neo-liberalism saw market orientated strategies re-appear, a minimal role of the state was required and a movement towards an export focus in international trade relation (Harris & Fabricus, 1996).
The IMF argues that a liberal economic market creates a win-win situation, and countries that have li ...