Jane Harrigan

U-Turns and Full Circles: Two Decades of Agricultural Reform in Malawi 1981-2000

Abstract This paper traces the evolution of Malawi’s agricultural policy over the past two decades. During this period the World Bank has played a key role in shaping policy reform through its Adjustment Loans. Three distinct reform phases can be identified: 1981–87 when policy was dominated by the dogmatism of the World Bank’s “pricist and state minimalist” policies; 1988–94 when a more flexible position was taken by both the Bank and the Malawi Government both of whom acknowledged the structuralist critique of earlier policies; and 1994 to the present when the reform process in agriculture became more politicized and a schism developed between the Bank and the Government. This latter period is used to illustrate some of the unresolved policy issues pertaining to similar low-income agrarian economies.

Evaluating the impact of world bank structural adjustment lending: 1980–87

This article attempts to evaluate the World Banks programme aid in the form of Structural Adjustment Loans with emphasis on the distinction between the influence of programme finance and the influence of the policy conditions attached to this finance. The rate of return on World Bank programme aid, measured in terms of the impact of GDP growth rates, is found to have been disappointing. The study also identifies a negative correlation between Structural Adjustment Loans and investment. It was also found that the Bank programme aids strongest beneficial effect has been on the balance of payments current account, both via the stimulation of exports and via the curbing of imports.

From Dictatorship to Democracy. Economic Policy in Malawi 1964-2000

Economic and political developments - 1964-1981 the banks diagnosis and prescriptions policy reforms in the agricultural sector - implementation and impact modelling the impact of bank conditionality reforms in the non-agricultural economic sectors macroeconomic impact of the structural adjustment programme structuralist reorientation of the adjustment programme 1988-1992 economic reform and the transition to democracy 1994-2000 summary and conclusions.

Economic liberalisation, social capital and Islamic welfare provision.

Economic liberalisation programmes have been introduced to several countries in the Middle East and North Africa in recent years, with the World Bank and IMF promoting this reform. The inevitable retrenchment of the state under liberalisation has arguably opened up a space for Islamic-based activities related to welfare provision. This book looks at two aspects of Islamic activity in the Middle East and North Africa: the development of social capital and the provision of welfare services, especially in the area of health and education. With in-depth country studies of Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, this book explores the differing experiences in the MENA countries, which range from the Tunisian experience, in which state welfare provision actually increased under liberalisation, to the experience of Jordan and Egypt, where increased poverty and a decline in the quality of state welfare provision under liberalisation has led to a large increase in Islamic welfare activities to the extent that the Muslim Brotherhood has gained considerable political capital, and now represents the main opposition to incumbent regimes in these two countries. This book provides a detailed examination of the social impact of economic liberalisation in the Middle East and North Africa, using the social capital concept to analyse the Islamic response to welfare changes. With a comprehensive and detailed analysis of four MENA countries and their varying experiences of economic liberalisation, this book is essential reading for all interested in welfare, liberalisation and political economy in the Middle East and North Africa.

On the Determinants of Capital Flight. A New Approach

This paper seeks to contribute to the literature on capital flight determinants by employing a new approach to the estimation of capital flight equations over four different measures of capital flight for Malaysian time-series data during the period 1970-96. It improves upon earlier work in the area by employing, for the first time in the relevant empirical literature, relatively recent developments associated with modern time-series analysis, such as cointegration, within the context of a general-to-specific econometric methodology. Empirical findings obtained seem to suggest the importance of macro-economic fundamentals in the capital flight process. The results of econometric analysis reveal the existence of a long-run relationship between capital flight, as variously defined (Dooleys, World Banks, Private Claim and Balance of Payments measures) on the one hand and exchange rate movements, changes in external debt, real GDP growth and foreign direct investment activities, on the other.

The Political Economy of Arab Food Sovereignty

Three recent phenomena serve as the background to this book: the global food price crises of 2007/08 and 2011, the Arab Spring and the growing practice of foreign land acquisition, sometimes referred to as ‘land grab’ , whereby richer food scarce countries acquire land in poorer land abundant countries to directly source their food needs. This book argues that these three phenomena are intimately linked and are part of the new political economy of food in the Arab region, whereby Arab states are developing a new approach to food security which we have called ‘food sovereignty’. Food politics and its relationship to power is of crucial importance to the Arab region yet remains under-studied. This book hopes to help fill this gap by providing a political economy analysis of food security and food sovereignty in the Arab world.

Globalization, international finance, and political islam in the Arab World

This article looks at one important aspect of globalization in the Arab World, namely the provision of international finance by the US, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank in support of economic liberalization programs. This flow of international finance has been partly determined by geopolitical factors and in some countries has resulted in a decline in state provision of social welfare, increased poverty, and increased inequality. Not only has this form of globalization been increasingly challenged by Islamist groups, but many such groups have moved in to provide social capital and fill the welfare gap created by the gradual withdrawal of the state from socio-economic affairs. Globalization has thus strengthened the hand of political Islam and undermined the political legitimacy of incumbent regimes.

Effects of the IMF and World Bank on public expenditure accountability in Jamaica

This article analyses the positive and negative effects of IMF stabilization programmes and World Bank structural adjustment programmes on the accountability of public expenditure management in Jamaica in the period 1980–1992. Particular attention is given to the negative accountability effects of IMF budget deficit reduction targets imposed on a Government uncommitted to meeting such targets. Many of the arguments presented in this article relate to expenditure accountability problems more generally and it cannot be proved that IMF conditionality was the sole cause of these problems. It is argued, however, that IMF conditionality contributed. This argument is based on a large number of semi-structured interviews conducted in 1993 with Jamaican bureaucrats, politicians, donors, academics and private sector representatives, many of whom were involved in Jamaicas budget formulation process, and on analysis of the existing literature and data. The conclusion reached is that donor-guided reform programmes have complex and often conflicting impacts on the accountability of the Governments budgetary practices. A major question that arises is the relative importance that donors such as the IMF place on budget conditionality as against accountability. The conclusion based on the Jamaican experience is that the IMF placed greater emphasis on the former.

Modelling the impact of world bank policy‐based lending: The case of Malawi's agricultural sector

This article uses a multi-market agricultural pricing model to analyse the impact of the World Banks three structural adjustment loans (SALs) to Malawi on the smallholder agricultural sector. Three price policy scenarios are simulated on the model representing zero, partial and full compliance with the Banks SAL price policy conditionality. These scenarios are analysed in terms of their impact on: the government budget; smallholder real incomes; maize production; exportable cash crop production; and the balance of payments. Critiques of the Banks programme and the government and Bank bargaining strategies are assessed in the light of the modelling results.

Economic Reform, Social Welfare, and Instability: Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia, 1983–2004

This article fills an important gap in the literature by exploring the trends in social welfare in four MENA countries that have undertaken extensive economic liberalization programs under the auspices of the IMF and the World Bank — namely, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco. Studying the experiences of these countries provides an opportunity to enhance the understanding of the link between economic reforms, the level of social welfare provision, and political stability.