ABSTRACT
In most of Africa, post-independence development policy was formulated through a statist ideological framework, which was then implemented by experimentation. This chapter reviews the positive economic recovery impact of structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) in Africa and analyzes development prospects and policy for the continent in the post-SAPs era beyond 2000. The deepening of the economic crisis in Africa, which began in the 1970s and intensified in the 1980s, presented a difficult challenge to the political leadership, policy advisers, and the development community. Fiscal policy is important for short-term attempts to stabilize the macroeconomy and for longer-run efforts to make key structural changes to the economy. The impact of SAPs on fiscal deficits is determined through a set of conditions, including the reduction of government spending. SAPs have made a positive impact on the economic recovery of the African countries beginning in the early 1990s.
