Using computable general equilibrium models, analyses the impact of structural adjustment on poverty in Africa.

Examines structural adjustment and stabilization policies in Tanzania from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. Formulates a model to analyse the effects of these policies on overall economic growth, sectoral performance, welfare and income distribution. Highlights the policy bias against agriculture, exchange rate devaluation and the behaviour of commodity markets. Includes a review of the transition to a free market economy since independence in 1961.

Our Continent, Our Future presents the emerging African perspective on this complex issue. The authors use as background their own extensive experience and a collection of 30 individual studies, 25 of which were from African economists, to summarize this African perspective and articulate a path for the future. They underscore the need to be sensitive to each country's unique history and current condition. They argue for a broader policy agenda and for a much more active role for the state within what is largely a market economy. Finally, they stress that Africa must, and can, compete in an increasingly globalized world and, perhaps most importantly, that Africans must assume the leading role in defining the continent's development agenda.

The last decade has brought sharp adjustment and rising poverty for most of the developing world. Adjustment and Poverty: Options and Choices examines the major causes and results of this situation, including: *the relationship between structural adjustment and poverty; *the extent to which the situation was brought about by internal and/or external policies; *the impact of the IMF and World Bank on adjusting countries; *government tax and spending policies - with a particular focus on social sector spending; *the possiblity of better policies in the future.

Recent research suggests that isolation from regional and international markets has contributed significantly to poverty in many Sub-Saharan African countries. Numerous empirical studies identify poor transport infrastructure and border restrictions as significant deterrents to trade expansion. In response, the African Development Bank has proposed an integrated network of functional roads for the subcontinent. Drawing on new econometric results, the authors quantify the trade-expansion potential and costs of such a network. They use spatial network analysis techniques to identify a network of primary roads connecting all Sub-Saharan capitals and other cities with populations over 500,000. The authors estimate current overland trade flows in the network using econometrically-estimated gravity model parameters, road transport quality indicators, actual road distances, and estimates of economic scale for cities in the network. Then they simulate the effect of feasible continental upgrading by setting network transport quality at a level that is functional, but less highly developed than existing roads in countries like South Africa and Botswana. The authors assess the costs of upgrading with econometric evidence from a large World Bank database of road project costs in Africa. Using a standard approach to forecast error estimation, they derive a range of potential benefits and costs. Their baseline results indicate that continental network upgrading would expand overland trade by about $250 billion over 15 years, with major direct and indirect benefits for the rural poor. Financing the program would require about $20 billion for initial upgrading and $1 billion annually for maintenance. The authors conclude with a discussion of supporting institutional arrangements and the potential cost of implementing them.