Structural Adjustment: Theory, Practice and Impacts examines the problems associated with Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) and reveals the damaging impacts they can have. The book looks at how the debt crisis of the 1970's forced developing countries to seek external help and then reviews what constitutes as a standard adjustment programme, detailing the political, economic, social and environmental impacts of SAPs. The final section draws together theories and political responses and presents a case for alternatives to the programmes.

Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) are an important feature of contemporary development, yet they are often evaluated in the terms set out by lenders themselves, ignoring the wider implications of SAPs. This volume attempts to situate SAPs in a wider development context featuring case material from the UK, the USA, Ghana, Mexico, India, Jamaica, Turkey, Eastern Europe, Mali, Zimbabwe and Sierra Leone. The book addresses SAPs in the lenders' terms, before addressing macro-economic issues, the impacts on social groups, and the impact upon welfare policies such as education and health....

Part of a series of studies that examine political issues confronting African peoples, societies and states, this text explores: theories of the state, the transition to democracy and economic development. Published in association with ROAPE North America: Africa World Press