ABSTRACT
At independence Zambia was generally regarded as one of the most promising countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Copper prices were high on the world market and the new government inherited a healthy financial position. With external reserves “almost exceeding the absorptive capacity of the state”, finance was not regarded as a major development constraint.1 Foreign aid was therefore not an issue of high priority for the country’s economic managers until the mid-1970s.2 Between 1971 and 1980 the most important donors were Britain, followed by the United States, Sweden and West Germany (Table 8.1).
