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

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.