[stop-imf] Reason 4 to Join IMF/World Bank Protests - Worsening Poverty

[Robert Weissman]

HOW IMF/WORLD BANK POLICIES WORSEN POVERTY

REASON NO. 4 TO JOIN THE FALL PROTESTS 
AGAINST THE IMF AND WORLD BANK

SEE WWW.GLOBALIZETHIS.ORG FOR PROTEST DETAILS

Structural adjustment -- the standard IMF/World Bank policy package
which calls for slashing government spending, privatization, and opening
up countries to exploitative foreign investment, among other measures --
has deepened poverty around the world. In the two regions with the most
structural adjustment experience, per capita income has stagnated (Latin
America) or plummeted (Africa). Structural adjustment has also
contributed to rising income and wealth inequality in the developing
world. 

 Here's how various structural adjustment policies increase poverty:

* Privatization -- Structural adjustment policies call for the sell off
of government-owned enterprises to private owners, often foreign
investors. Privatization is typically associated with layoffs and pay
cuts for workers in the privatized enterprises. 

* Cuts in government spending -- Reductions in government spending
frequently reduce the services available to the poor, including health
and education services (though the IMF and World Bank now say they
preserve health and education spending). 

* Imposition of user fees -- Many IMF and World Bank loans call for the
imposition of "user fees" -- charges for the use of government-provided
services like schools, health clinics and clean drinking water. For very
poor people, even modest charges may result in the denial of access to
services. 

* Promotion of exports -- Under structural adjustment programs,
countries undertake a variety of measures to promote exports, at the
expense of production for domestic needs. In the rural sector, the
export orientation is often associated with the displacement of poor
people who grow food for their own consumption, as their land is taken
over by large plantations growing crops for foreign markets. 

* Higher interest rates -- Higher interest rates exert a recessionary
effect on national economies, leading to higher rates of joblessness.
Small businesses, often operated by women, find it more difficult to
gain access to affordable credit, and often are unable to survive. 

* Trade Liberalization -- The elimination of tariff protections for
industries in developing countries often leads to mass layoffs. In
Mozambique, for example, the IMF and World Bank ordered the removal of
an export tax on cashew nuts. The result: 10,000 adults, mostly women,
lost their jobs in cashew nut-processing factories. Most of the
processing work shifted to India, where child laborers shell the nuts at
home. 

	-- SEE WWW.GLOBALIZETHIS.ORG FOR PROTEST DETAILS --