Has Recovery Begun? Africa's Adjustment in the 1980's Revisited

Weeks, John; Mosley, Paul

Abstract

This article reviews the 1989 debate between the World Bank and the Economic Commission for Africa over Africa's adjustment, and on the basis of most recent statistics concludes that there is little evidence that the region is in throes of a recovery. Some countries, however, did relatively better than others in the 1980s, and an attempt is made to account for differences in performance. It is concluded that success in adjustment results not from World Bank/International Monetary Fund programs as such, but rather from “policy coherence,” accompanied by “healthy” movement in key variables, namely the real exchange rate and public development expenditure.

Citation

Weeks, J., & Mosley, P. (1993). Has Recovery Begun? Africa's Adjustment in the 1980's Revisited. World Development, 21(10), 1583-1606. https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-750X%2893%2990093-O

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 1993
• Deposit Date: Feb 23, 2009
• Journal: World Development
• Print ISSN: 0305-750X
• Electronic ISSN: 1873-5991
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 10
• Pages: 1583-1606
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-750X%2893%2990093-O