ABSTRACT
Over the past decade, sub-Saharan Africa has reflected a sweeping set of political and economic changes. At the beginning of the 1980s, the region was beset by an economic crisis of broad dimensions. Most countries reflected declining growth rates, stagnant production, rising external debt, and widening domestic poverty. Many governments, in the face of acute fiscal problems and balance of payments shortfalls, turned to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for new resources or debt relief. With the sponsorship of these international financial institutions (IFIs) and other donors, a majority of African states embarked upon stabilization or structural adjustment programs. The effectiveness of these measures varied greatly, but at the end of the 1980s economic policies had changed markedly in numerous African countries, and some economies showed hesitant signs of recovery.
