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Structural Adjustment and Performance in Living Standards in Developing Countries

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  • N. Kakwani

Abstract

Over the years, the World Bank's structural adjustment programmes have been criticized on the grounds that they have adverse effects on the living standards of the people in developing countries. The main objective of this article is to test the hypothesis that the adjustment lending countries have had a superior (or inferior) performance to the non‐adjustment lending countries during the 1980s. A new dummy variable regression model is used to test this hypothesis. The model controls for initial conditions, external shocks and other exogenous variables which affect different countries differently. The standard of living is measured by several socioeconomic variables including per capita income, lifeexpectancy at birth, infant mortality rate, and literacy rate.

Suggested Citation

  • N. Kakwani, 1995. "Structural Adjustment and Performance in Living Standards in Developing Countries," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 26(3), pages 469-502, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:26:y:1995:i:3:p:469-502
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7660.1995.tb00562.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Farhad Noorbakhsh, 1997. "Structural Adjustments and Standards of Living in Developing Countries," Working Papers 9701, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.
    2. Londoño, Juan Luis & Székely, Miguel, 1997. "Persistent Poverty and Excess Inequality: Latin America, 1970-1995," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 6092, Inter-American Development Bank.
    3. Arno Tausch & Almas Heshmati, 2012. "Migration, Openness and the Global Preconditions of "Smart Development"," Bogazici Journal, Review of Social, Economic and Administrative Studies, Bogazici University, Department of Economics, vol. 26(2), pages 1-62.
    4. Farhad Noorbakhsh & Shadan Noorbakhsh, "undated". "Human Development and the World Bank Adjustment Programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 2005_8, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.
    5. Farhad Noorbakhsh, 1999. "Standards of living, human development indices and structural adjustments in developing countries: an empirical investigation," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 11(1), pages 151-175.
    6. Tausch, Arno, 2011. "Costa Rica, superstar? some reflections on the global drivers and bottlenecks of the happy planet index," MPRA Paper 33226, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Tausch, Arno, 2016. "‘Smart development’. An essay on a new political economy of the environment," MPRA Paper 70204, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Frances Stewart, 2018. "Revisiting the methodology of Myrdal in Asian Drama 50 years on," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2018-109, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    9. Hobijn, Bart & Franses, Philip Hans, 2001. "Are living standards converging?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 171-200, July.
    10. Frances Stewart, 2018. "Revisiting the methodology of Myrdal in Asian Drama 50 years on," WIDER Working Paper Series 109, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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