Der vorliegende Text gibt eine differenzierte Analyse des Lome-Prozesses von seinen Anfängen 1975 bis zu den jüngsten Lome-Verhandlungen. Die leitende Fragestellung zielt auf eine Einschätzung der Zukunftsperspektive der Lome-Verträge. Vor dem Hintergrund des wachsenden Interesses der EU an wirtschaftlichen Beziehungen zu Osteuropa ist ein abnehmendes Interesse der EU an den AKP-Staaten zu verzeichnen. Dennoch hält der Autor ein völliges Auslaufen des Lome-Prozesses für wenig wahrscheinlich. (DÜI-Spl)
GHANA AND THE BAMBIA ARE PART OF THE GROUP OF AFRICAN STATES THAT HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING PROGRAM OF STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT (SAPS) THROUGHOUT MOST OF THE 1980S AND INTO THE 1990S. THEY ARE ALSO AMONGST THE STATES THAT THE BRETTON WOODS INSTITUTIONS (BWIS) HAVE PERIODICALLY CITED AS SUCCESS STORIES FOR ADJUSTMENT. THE AIMS OF ADJUSTMENT POLICIES ARE WELL KNOWN TO ANALYSTS OF AFRICAN POLITICAL ECONOMY. THEIR THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS LIE WITHIN A BRAND OF NEO-CLASSICAL ECONOMICS THAT EMPHASIZES THE ADVANTAGES OF NON-INTERVENTION IN THE FREE MARKET AND, CONVERSELY, THE RISKS ATTENDANT ON STATE ATTEMPTS TO REGULATE OR INTERVENE IN THE MARKET. IT FOLLOWS THAT THIS LINE OF THOUGHT ANATHEMATIZES THE ATTEMPTS OF VARIOUS AFRICAN STATES TO PROMOTE INDIGENOUS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT. STATE SPENDING ON SUCH AIMS IS DEEMED INFLATIONARY AND WASTEFUL INASMUCH AS IT IS BELIEVED TO PROMOTE INEFFICIENT INDUSTRIES THAT CAN ONLY SURVIVE ON THE BASIS OF STATE SUBSIDIZATION AND PROTECTION AGAINST FOREIGN COMPETITION. STATE CONCENTRATION ON THE INDUSTRIAL SECTOR CAN ALSO BE SEEN AS PROVIDING A DISINCENTIVE TO THOSE SECTORS OF THE ECONOMY THAT ARE ACTUALLY PRODUCTIVE, NOTABLY THE RURAL SECTOR, SINCE IT IS THE PRODUCERS IN THE LATTER SECTORS THAT HAVE TO FOOT THE BILL FOR STATE INTERVENTION.
THE AUTHOR SUMMARIZES THE MAIN STRANDS OF THE WORLD BANK/ECA DEBATE AND WHAT IT DEMONSTRATES ABOUT THE EFFICACY OF STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT. HE ALSO REVIEWS UNCTAD'S CONTRIBUTION TO THIS DEBATE. THEN HE COMMENTS ON THE ECA'S ALTERNATIVE STRATEGY BEFORE CONCLUDING WITH A BRIEF EXAMINATION OF THE WORLD BANK'S COUNTER-PROPOSALS FOR AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT.
Assesses the international politics of Africa's growing external indebtedness and the pressures for policy direction that it produces. After the scale and character of the problem has been assessed, the increasingly significant role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) within Africa is discussed. The nature of external policy direction is then examined, with particular reference to the influential World Bank policy paper, the Belg Report. Concludes by examining alternatives to IMF policy, including default and collective disengagement. (AM)
Seeks to contribute to an understanding of the debt crisis in Africa by examining the domestic effects of international debt in Ghana, Sierra Leone and Zaire. (GAW)
