This book provides a systematic and coherent framework for understanding the interactions between the micro and macro dimensions of economic adjustment policies; that is, it explores short-run macroeconomic management and structural adjustment policies aimed at promoting economic growth. It emphasizes the importance of structural microeconomic characteristics in the transmission of policy shocks and the response of the economy to adjustment policies. It has particular relevance to the economics of developing countries. The book is directed to economists interested in an overview of the economics of reform; economists in international organizations, such as the UN, the IMF, and the World Bank, dealing with development; and economists in developing countries. It is also a text for advanced undergraduate students pursuing a degree in economic policy and management and students in political science and public policy.

This is a collection of essays offering comparative analysis of the divergent experiences of developing countries responding to economic crises by adopting macroeconomic stabilization and structural adjustment policies.

"Economic reform by Third World governments is usually portrayed as the product of outside pressure, especially from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. This welcome collection provides an important counter-perspective by putting domestic politics at center stage. Miles Kahler demonstrates that international institutions only rarely play an important role."--Orbis' "Joan Nelson and her collaborators have performed a valuable service for those concerned about the politics of reform by bringing together a series of informed and insightful essays that address clearly and concisely the difficult political dilemmas of economic adjustment."--Merilee S. Grindle,Economic Development and Cultural Change

This book explores the relationship between economic adaptation and long-run development, with particluar emphasis on small, low- income economies. It also examines what makes for flexibility within an economy and how policy can affect an economy's ability to adapt to conditions over which it has no control. The premise is that all economies need to adapt to changing circumstances in order to achieve a reasonable pace of development. The author explains the forces to which economies need to respond, the attributes that increase an economy's capacity to adjust, the difficulties of adjustment, and what policy can do to facilitate adjustment. The author illustrates structure and flexibility within an economy and offers a guide to forming policy. Specific policy options are examined, among them using exchange rate fluctuations. The roles of government and markets in setting adjustment policies for industry, agriculture, and finance are explored. The study draws upon a wide range of material and avoids a narrowly economic point of view. The book is intended for use by economists working for or advising government agencies and for teachers and students of development economics. It includes an extensive reference list.

This book focuses on conceptualizing the process of economic adjustment and growth, and testing it with empirical methods. The critical components of a successful economic growth strategy include physical, financial, and educational infrastructures supported by macro-financial stabilization policies and structural reforms. With this in mind, the authors begin with a review of the neoclassical growth model, before delving into more specialized topics such as endogenous growth, adaptive inflationary expectations, learning by doing, optimal saving, and sustainable foreign debt. The final chapter presents Philippines as a case study, and narrates the evolution of a successful strategy of adjustment and growth practiced by an emerging market economy that had shown stellar pre-pandemic growth performance, low and stable inflation, and a sustainable external current account position.

This book addresses the question of how political capacity of the government of a developing country affects its ability to implement structural adjustments in its economy in response to external pressures. It builds on the inductive foundation of comparative case studies and speculative insights.