The W.H.O. explains IMF Policies

by the Webmaster

     As explained below, loans from the World Bank and the IMF to developing countries are typically made conditional on the implementation of certain policies which the lenders believe will advance their institutions' goals and decrease the likelihood of sovereign default.  These policies are widely unpopular in every country in which they are imposed -- in recent months, similar "austerity measures" have caused mass protests in France, Greece, and the United Kingdom -- yet they continue to drive government policies across the globe.  The World Health Organization provides on its Web site an explanation of these policies, which is reproduced below (all emphasis is added):


     Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) are economic policies for developing countries that have been promoted by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) since the early 1980s by the provision of loans conditional on the adoption of such policies. Structural adjustment loans are loans made by the World Bank. They are designed to encourage the structural adjustment of an economy by, for example, removing “excess” government controls and promoting market competition as part of the neo-liberal agenda followed by the Bank. The Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility is an IMF financing mechanism to support of macroeconomic policies and SAPs in low-income countries through loans or low interest subsidies.
     SAPs policies reflect the neo-liberal ideology that drives globalization. They aim to achieve long-term or accelerated economic growth in poorer countries by restructuring the economy and reducing government intervention. SAPs policies include currency devaluation, managed balance of payments, reduction of government services through public spending cuts/budget deficit cuts, reducing tax on high earners, reducing inflation, wage suppression, privatization, lower tariffs on imports and tighter monetary policy, increased free trade, cuts in social spending, and business deregulation. Governments are also encouraged or forced to reduce their role in the economy by privatizing state-owned industries, including the health sector, and opening up their economies to foreign competition.

http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story084/en/index.html