Incluye bibliografía

Abbreviations -- Preface -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Economic policies and their consequences -- 3. Impact of politics on economic policy -- 4. Policy experience in the 1980s -- 5. Three case histories of reform: Mauritius, Malawi, and Zambia -- 6. Future policy reform -- References -- List of tables

The main emphasis in this report is on policy determinants and government processes involved in making and implementing economic decisions. At issue are the political and economic risks inherent in reforms and what can be done to contain these dangers in the special context of low income Sub Saharan Africa. The report will discuss the acuteness of the economic crisis and its causes, the determinnants of changes in economic policies during the late 1960s and the 1970s, and analyzes comparative policy responses of governments of sample countries during the 1980-86 period. Further on, the report goes on to derive lessons of recent policy history in Africa. It then examines the extent to which weaknesses in the technical design of reforms exacerbated problems of implementation. The international framework within which economic reforms took place is also examined.