Introduction: Markets in Principle and Practice

I If development policy in the 1980s was consistently shaped by an appeal to market principle, rather narrowly defined, the process of reform in the 1990s already shows signs of increasing concern with market practice-with what a growing number of people are calling the political economy of 'real markets'. 1

This is the case for a number of reasons. The first is simply the experience of the past decade, which has forcefully illustrated the complexity of efforts at economic restructuring around the world and the difficulties encountered when insufficient attention is paid to a wide range of real market settings in which reform programmes are being applied.