Structural Adjustment in a Changing World

After briefly reviewing factors that contributed to the rise of a radical free-market form of adjustment in the 1970s and 1980s, this paper considers some of the lessons that can be learned from experiences with economic reform over the past two decades in Africa and Latin America. It closes with a plea for taking a systemic view of adjustment, involving reform in the North as well as the South; discarding stereotypes of “successful” adjusting countries; and recognizing that conditionality should be used with caution. Since there is no single prescription that can be relied upon to solve the complex problems of economic recovery, specific approaches must be worked out through adequate consultation among affected groups. This requires the strengthening of democratic political processes.