The International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Africa: A “Disastrous” Record

Abstract

In their 60th anniversary year, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank will attempt to highlight their "assistance" to Africa. But in reality, since the 1970s, these institutions have gradually become the chief architects of policies that are responsible for the worst inequalities and the explosion of poverty in the world, especially in Africa. When they began to intervene on that continent in the late 1970s and early 1980s, their stated goal was to "accelerate development." But the actual record is just disastrous, as this article reveals.

Globalization and Global Welfare: A Critical Excursion

“…As a consequence, few governments are eager to make decisions separately from their reliance on global enterprise; it is as though they are in a situation of shared sovereignty, having to negotiate between domestic, international, corporatist and transnational interests (Esping-Andersen, 1990;Hill, 2006;Kennett, 2001;Navarro, 2007). NGOs such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have also become architectural partners in local policy deliberations by sanctioning preferred welfare policies as a condition of their support of monetization (Deacon, Hulse, & Stubbs, 1997;Dembele, 2007;Hart, 2002). Even so, nation-states nonetheless serve important administrative functions in a world dominated by transnational corporate interests and it is unlikely that governmental responsibilities are either going to be usurped or allowed to wither in light of their functionality (Hill, 2006;Navarro, 2007).…”

“…One illustration is that the World Bank began urging diminutions in pay-as-you-go (PAYG) pension provisions in favor of means-tested pensions and private provisions in the mid-1990s. The World Bank and the IMF have been staunch advocates for over three decades for broadly defined market-led welfare policies as a preferred alternative to un-or under-funded public welfare (Dembele, 2007;Wade, 2007). Encapsulating both the criticisms and the confluence of forces fueling such a movement, asserts that the drive for economic integration pays precious little attention to nation-building, national interests or public sector regulatory control.…”

Governing Globalization and Justice

“…One illustration is that the World Bank began urging diminutions in pay-as-you-go (PAYG) pension provisions in favor of meanstested pensions and private provisions in the mid-1990s. The World Bank and the IMF have been staunch advocates for over three decades for broadly defined market-led welfare policies as a preferred alternative to un-or under-funded public welfare (Dembele, 2007;Wade, 2007). Encapsulating both the criticisms and the confluence of forces fueling such a movement, asserts that the drive for economic integration pays precious little attention to nation-building, national interests, or public sector regulatory control.…”

Globalization and Modernity

“…As a consequence, few governments are eager to make decisions separately from their reliance on global enterprise; it is as though they are in a situation of shared sovereignty, having to negotiate between domestic, international, corporatist, and transnational interests (Esping-Andersen, 1990; Hill, 2006;Kennett, 2001;Navarro, 2007). NGOs such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have also become architectural partners in local policy deliberations by sanctioning preferred welfare policies as a condition of their support of monetization (Deacon, Hulse, & Stubbs, 1997;Dembele, 2007;Hart, 2002). Even so, nation-states nonetheless serve important administrative functions in a world dominated by transnational corporate interests and it is unlikely that governmental responsibilities are either going to be usurped or allowed to wither in light of their functionality (Hill, 2006;Navarro, 2007).…”

“…The World Bank and the IMF have been staunch advocates for over three decades for broadly defined market-led welfare policies as a preferred alternative to un-or under-funded public welfare (Dembele, 2007;Wade, 2007). Encapsulating both the criticisms and the confluence of forces fueling such a movement, asserts that the drive for economic integration pays precious little attention to nation-building, national interests, or public sector regulatory control.…”