ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at Afghanistan as a case study for whether following macroeconomic orthodoxy and integrating into the world economy necessarily leads to economic growth, job creation and social betterment. With 25 nations involved militarily, and more than 60 nations contributing to the reconstruction of Afghanistan, reconstruction has to be seen in the context of the US-led coalition's Operation Enduring Freedom, first and foremost a security Endeavour, and part of the US "global war on terror. Even before the onset of conflict in 1978 and the subsequent Soviet invasion at the end of 1979, Afghanistan was one of the world's poorest and least developed countries. Moreover, much of the basis of Afghanistan's limited export economy had undergone either external changes or was less competitive due to degradation of irrigation and other infrastructure. First and foremost, poor economic and overall governance discouraged formalization, expansion and investment, in addition to creating unnecessary barriers for traders.
