Economic Decline Of The Zimbabwean Economy Essay

According to Mohan, (2009) despite the presence of the financial bodies usually at the request of government authorities, he is of the opinion that SAP is a political tool for eroding the sovereignty of developing countries. It serves as an opportunity for these institutions to influence national agendas through conditionality’s, sanctions or collaboration with policy elites of the state.

An example of the IMF’s ability to promote strong, stable economies is the case of Jordan. In the 1980s the declining oil prices and the related recessions in the Middle Eastern oil exporting countries was disadvantageous to Jordan. In 1989 Jordan had a 30-35 percent unemployment rate and was having a hard time due to their external debt. This led the authorities to request the country’s first arrangement with the IMF. Economic reforms were a part of the agreement between Jordan and the IMF. Jordan agreed to a series of five year reforms financed by the IMF, therefore the government took on huge reforms prioritizing foreign investment and easier trade policies. They were ultimately able to reduce the overall debt payment up to a manageable level. Jordan is currently regarded as a country by which the effectiveness of the IMF assistance is assessed.

Several developing countries are sunk in debt and poverty because of the arrangements of global establishments, for example, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Their projects have been vigorously reprimanded for a long time and have been constantly blamed for poverty. Moreover, developing countries have been in constant expanded reliance on the wealthier countries, despite the IMF and World Bank's claim that their main goal is to fight poverty (Shah, 2013). During recent decades, the poorest nations on the planet have needed to swing progressively to the World Bank and IMF for money related help, because their impoverishment has made it unthinkable for them to acquire somewhere else. The World Bank and IMF connect strict

Following the recommendations of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the government undertook economic policy reforms to rejuvenate the economy from 1983. However, the structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) worsened, rather than improved the economy. Agricultural and manufacturing outputs and exports failed to increase significantly. This was attributed to the inadequate incentives for farmers due to uncompetitive exports of manufactures, high inflation, unemployment, and rising external debts.

The economic and social crises in the country are characterized under three headings: poor governance: inappropriate social and economic policies and week international prices for the country’s main exports. To help solve those issues in 1990 (the same year) the country’s government (Bretton Woods Institutions) established a Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). Its objectives are: to achieve and maintain stable economy; to redefine public sector’s role and Government’s capacity to provide basic services; and to be able to create economic environment based on transparency and regulations.

In an effort to bring an end to world poverty the World Bank and IMF (International Monetary Fund) were established in 1944. Consisting of members from 44 nations “The Bank and the IMF are twin intergovernmental pillars supporting the structure of the world's economic and financial order”(Driscoll, 1996). In other words they are international economic organizations that grant loans to third world countries for development programs.

Neoliberal globalization is an economic system that promotes free market policies of liberalization, deregulation, privatization, and the cutting of social support systems. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank help promote these policies by making structural adjustment programs conditions for any aid or support. Unfortunately, once structural adjustment programs are put into place they tend to disrupt developing countries’ economies and end up making them even worse off than before. Before the 1980s, developing countries had a per capita growth rate of more than 3%, once these policies were put into place growth rates dropped to 1.7% (Hickel 2012: 7). This provides evidence that these programs are pushed at developing countries

However, although globalization has helped several countries, "in some developing countries, foreign aid and investments are not relieving widespread poverty, and policies forced by global institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank have created more harm than good, because the policies are based on models constructed by the developed countries and are not customized for each developing country 's situation" (2003).

The United States, Italy and other countries in 80’s were heavily involved in aid to the government of Somalia. The IMF involvement during the same period came from direct aid, but also the enforcement of Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) within the country. The purposes of the SAPs, dependent upon loans from the IMF, reduce government spending, deregulation, devalue currency, control inflation, open economy to trade, convert state business to private sector, and end government food subsidies. These types of policies were part of the IMF ideal and pathway

One major complaint about the World Bank is that it causes high debt in developing countries. Even though the loans are meant to help these countries, they end up causing the countries to take on debt that they must pay interest on and remain under the conditions of the institution. Another is that as part of their lending requirements; the World Bank has imposed rigorous conditions on recipient countries. These requirements are known as structural adjustment programs. These programs force countries to adopt their conditions, such as deregulation of capital markets, reformation of national companies to private corporations, and downscaling of social welfare programs. Privatization of water supplies and public pensions, and imposing fees for public hospitals and publics schools are among the debated bank reforms. In his book, 50 Years Is Enough, Kevin Danaher describes the World Bank's policies as "austerity plans that 'reform' economic policies by suffocating the poor and inviting

First, let us examine how economic policies like the structural adjustment policies implemented by the IMF affect a country. A great example of this is detailed in Ault and Sandberg’s “Our Policies, Their Consequences”, where both authors explore how seriously the structural adjustment policies changed the economic state in Zambia. As these authors point out, the terms of the loans “reflect the economic and political interests and values of the world’s wealthiest nations (470)”. It is seen here already that that does not bode well for Zambia. One clearly can see that globalization is just another way first world nations still colonize the world, but instead through means of economic and trade conquests. Now, the article continues on to talk about the kind of changes that the IMF implemented on Zambia: they wanted them to devalue their currency and stop supporting many domestic programs, social welfare programs, and fire federal employees and instead they wanted them to focus on increasing their exports for the global market. And what are changes without its consequences? Because the IMF favored the growth of international markets, the local economy in Zambia suffered greatly. Devalued

The three major international economic institutions are the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the World Trade Organization; this book mainly focuses on the IMF and the World Bank, due to the author’s first-hand experience with both institutions. The IMF, a public institution built as a guiding hand for economic stability around the world, has brought false

Harvard Business School’s Case Study “Aid, Debt Relief, and Trade: An agenda for fighting World Poverty” outlines the steps, and missteps, that the world community has taken since World War II to address the efficacy of international assistance. The study focuses on international financial institutions (IFIs) and their ability to help poor nations break out of poverty and the possible obligations of rich, developed countries to assist the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs). Additionally, the study seeks to see if this assistance has been and can be parlayed into growth and investment for the HIPCs.

economic problems that led the country to the Fund in the first place and thus should be

It was a World Bank and IMF, 5 year inspired program that was used to counter any economic crisis arising in developing economies. It was a prescription to cure the economic mess, especially in developing countries, in my case Zimbabwe. “ ESAP is a top-down economic strategy which is designed to resuscitate an economy using massive doses of foreign exchange(acquired mostly through loans) and hugely increased exports” (Coltart, 1992).