Do we need new development models? The impact of neo-liberal policies

From 1982 onwards the neo-liberal model dominated the policies of most developing countries, led by the International Financial Institutions (IFIs). The debt crisis of the 1980s provided the opening that gave the IFIs the power to insist on their policy package in most African and Latin American countries. Asian countries managed to retain more autonomy, and although they moved in the direction of a more market-oriented system, generally speaking they retained an important role for the state. The fall of communism in the late 1980s provided a further opening, and the former socialist countries joined developing countries in adopt non-interventionist marketoriented policies. Consequently, the 1980s and 1990s saw a widespread and growing adoption of neo-liberal policies (figure 3.1).

Related Subject(s): Economic and Social Development