Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) are an important feature of contemporary development, yet they are often evaluated in the terms set out by lenders themselves, ignoring the wider implications of SAPs. This volume attempts to situate SAPs in a wider development context featuring case material from the UK, the USA, Ghana, Mexico, India, Jamaica, Turkey, Eastern Europe, Mali, Zimbabwe and Sierra Leone. The book addresses SAPs in the lenders' terms, before addressing macro-economic issues, the impacts on social groups, and the impact upon welfare policies such as education and health. Beyond economic analysis, the role of the state in the process, the impact of these programmes on services and the environment are also analyzed.

Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) are an important feature of contemporary development, yet they are often evaluated in the terms set out by lenders themselves, ignoring the wider implications of SAPs.
Structural Adjustment attempts to situate SAPs in a wider development context featuring case material from the UK, USA, Ghana, Mexico, India, Jamaica, Turkey, Eastern Europe, Mali, Zimbabwe and Sierra Leone, the book addresses SAPs in the lenders' terms, before addressing macro-economic issues, the impacts on social groups, and the impact upon welfare policies such as education and health. Beyond economic analysis, the role of the state in the process, the impact of these programmes on services and the environment are also analysed.

The contemporary orthodox view of world trade has centred, generally unchallenged, on the ideas of free trade, based on the theoretical construct of comparative advantage. This book will engage in a critique of the orthodox position based on the underlying theoretical economic construct, the historical development of the now developed economies and the morally unsustainable position of the free-trade regime.

The author examines alternatives such as Most Favoured Nation and Preferential Trading Agreements before making the argument in favour of Asymmetric Trading, where the underdeveloped economies can develop behind tariff barriers and quotas, whilst the triadic nations maintain a lack of barriers to the exports of these economies. He outlines how such a trading regime would be mutually beneficial in the long term, in the sense that development through industrialisation takes place and the increase in GDP per capita would allow markets for exports to be sustainable, thus widening the market for the goods and services of the developed economies. However, the author demonstrates that free trade actually increases the development gap by maintaining the status quo in terms of the underdeveloped economies specialising in and exporting low value-added primary products and importing high value-added manufactures.

The book analyses contemporary and historical data to illustrate how an alternative trading regime can be truly advantageous to both the developed and underdeveloped regions of the world: a global trading regime that is capable of increasing GDP in a sustainable manner without transferring a surplus from the poor to the rich nations and without a long-term commitment on the part of the developed nations to altruism.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction.

2. The Theory of Free Trade.

3. A Critique of the Theories of Free Trade.

4. Historical Arguments Against Free Trade.

5. The Moral Arguments for an Alternative Global Trading Regime.

6. The Inadequacy of Preferential Trading Agreements.

7. Contemporary Protectionism and its Effect on Underdeveloped Economies.

8. The Developmental State and Infant Industry Protection.

9. The Theory of Unequal Exchange.

10. Asymmetric Trade Explained.

11. The Global Benefits of Asymmetric Trading.

12. Conclusions

The contemporary orthodox view of world trade has centred, generally unchallenged, on the ideas of free trade, based on the theoretical construct of comparative advantage. This book will engage in a critique of the orthodox position based on the underlying theoretical economic construct, the historical development of the now developed economies and the morally unsustainable position of the free-trade regime. The author examines alternatives such as Most Favoured Nation and Preferential Trading Agreements before making the argument in favour of Asymmetric Trading, where the underdeveloped economies can develop behind tariff barriers and quotas, whilst the triadic nations maintain a lack of barriers to the exports of these economies. He outlines how such a trading regime would be mutually beneficial in the long term, in the sense that development through industrialisation takes place and the increase in GDP per capita would allow markets for exports to be sustainable, thus widening the market for the goods and services of the developed economies. However, the author demonstrates that free trade actually increases the development gap by maintaining the status quo in terms of the underdeveloped economies specialising in and exporting low value-added primary products and importing high value-added manufactures. The book analyses contemporary and historical data to illustrate how an alternative trading regime can be truly advantageous to both the developed and underdeveloped regions of the world: a global trading regime that is capable of increasing GDP in a sustainable manner without transferring a surplus from the poor to the rich nations and without a long-term commitment on the part of the developed nations to altruism.

Written by a team of experienced writers with contributions from specialist economists, Applied Economics combines up-to-date information with theory to provide an excellent introduction to real-world economics. The book includes chapters on the most important aspects of micro and macro economics, each containing the appropriate theory, but with the main emphasis on application. There are numerous examples, with a focus on Europe in every chapter. This is an essential text for students on undergraduate courses in economics, business and social science.