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The Washington Consensus: Assessing a Damaged Brand - Working Paper 213

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  • Nancy Birdsall

Abstract

In this paper we analyze the Washington Consensus, which at its original formulation reflected views not only from Washington but also from Latin America. We trace the life of the Consensus from a Latin American perspective in terms of evolving economic development paradigms. We document the extensive implementation of Consensus-style reforms in the region as well as the mismatch between reformers’ expectations and actual outcomes, in terms of growth, poverty reduction, and inequality. We then present an assessment of what went wrong with the Washington Consensus-style reform agenda, using a taxonomy of views that put the blame, alternatively, on (i) shortfalls in the implementation of reforms combined with impatience regarding their expected effects; (ii) fundamental flaws—in either the design, sequencing, or basic premises of the reform agenda; and (iii) incompleteness of the agenda that left out crucial reform needs, such as volatility, technological innovation, institutional change and inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Nancy Birdsall, 2010. "The Washington Consensus: Assessing a Damaged Brand - Working Paper 213," Working Papers 213, Center for Global Development.
    • Handle: RePEc:cgd:wpaper:213
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    File URL: http://www.cgdev.org/content/publications/detail/1424155/
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    Cited by:

    1. Paulo De Sa, 2019. "Mining and sustainable development: territorializing the mining industry," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 32(2), pages 131-143, July.
    2. Nicholas Crafts, 2012. "Economic History Matters," Economic History of Developing Regions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(S1), pages 3-15.
    3. Giovanni Andrea Cornia, 2012. "The New Structuralist Macroeconomics and Income Inequality," Working Papers - Economics wp2012_25.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    4. Pavle Jakovac & Kristijan Lončarić, 2018. "„Asian Way“ - An Alternative to Washington Consensus?," Occasional Publications, in: Financije teorija i suvremena pitanja = Finance - theory and contemporary issues, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 8, pages 173-201, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Economics.
    5. Moon, Wanki & Pino, Gabriel, 2016. "Comparative Advantage or Competitive Advantage in Explaining Agricultural Trade?," 2016 Annual Meeting, February 6-9, 2016, San Antonio, Texas 230031, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    6. Giovanni Andrea Cornia, 2012. "Inequality Trends and their Determinants: Latin America over 1990-2010," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2012-009, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    7. Terheggen, Anne, 2010. "The new kid in the forest: the impact of China's resource demand on Gabon's tropical timber value chain," MPRA Paper 37982, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Nancy Birdsall & Nora Lustig & Darryl McLeod, 2011. "Declining Inequality in Latin America: Some Economics, Some Politics," Working Papers 1120, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    9. Rachel M. Gisselquist, 2015. "State capability and prospects for close co-ordination: Considerations for industrial policy in Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series 035, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    10. Baldwin, Richard, 2012. "Trade and industrialisation after globalisation?s 2nd unbundling: How building and joining a supply chain are different and why," CEPR Discussion Papers 8768, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Grier, Kevin B. & Grier, Robin M., 2021. "The Washington consensus works: Causal effects of reform, 1970-2015," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 59-72.
    12. Richard Baldwin, 2011. "Trade And Industrialisation After Globalisation's 2nd Unbundling: How Building And Joining A Supply Chain Are Different And Why It Matters," NBER Working Papers 17716, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Faruk ÜLGEN, 2018. "Financial stability as a global public good and relevant systemic regulation as a problem of collective action," CIRIEC Studies Series, in: Philippe BANCE & CIRIEC (ed.), Providing public goods and commons. Towards coproduction and new forms of governance for a revival of public action, volume 1, chapter 5, pages 95-112, CIRIEC - Université de Liège.
    14. Jorge Thompson Araujo & Markus Brueckner & Mateo Clavijo & Ekaterina Vostroknutova & Konstantin M. Wacker, 2014. "Benchmarking the Determinants of Economic Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean," World Bank Publications - Reports 21318, The World Bank Group.
    15. Terták, Elemér, 2014. "EU-tagságunk tíz éve a pénzügyi szektor perspektívájából [Ten years EU membership for the financial sector]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(4), pages 414-438.
    16. Sauerland, Dirk, 2015. "Germany's social market economy: A blueprint for Latin American countries?," Wittener Diskussionspapiere zu alten und neuen Fragen der Wirtschaftswissenschaft 32/2015, Witten/Herdecke University, Faculty of Management and Economics.
    17. Giovanni Andrea Cornia, 2012. "Inequality Trends and their Determinants: Latin America over 1990-2010," Working Papers - Economics wp2012_02.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    18. repec:unu:wpaper:wp2012-09 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Crafts, Nicholas, 2011. "The Marshall Plan: A Reality Check," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 49, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    20. Jesus Felipe & Norio Usui & Arnelyn Abdon, 2011. "Rethinking The Growth Diagnostics Approach: Questions From The Practitioners," Journal of International Commerce, Economics and Policy (JICEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 2(02), pages 251-276.
    21. Jorge Thompson Araujo & Ekaterina Vostroknutova & Markus Brueckner & Mateo Clavijo & Konstantin M. Wacker, 2016. "Beyond Commodities," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 25321.
    22. Richard Baldwin, 2013. "Trade and Industrialization after Globalization's Second Unbundling: How Building and Joining a Supply Chain Are Different and Why It Matters," NBER Chapters, in: Globalization in an Age of Crisis: Multilateral Economic Cooperation in the Twenty-First Century, pages 165-212, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Belinda Archibong & Brahima Coulibaly & Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, 2021. "Washington Consensus Reforms and Lessons for Economic Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 35(3), pages 133-156, Summer.
    24. Bruno Martorano, & Giovanni Andrea Cornia & Frances Stewart, 2012. "Human Development and Fiscal Policy: Comparing the Crises of 1982-85 and 2008-11," Working Papers - Economics wp2012_23.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    25. J. Marcela Chaves-Agudelo & Simon P. J. Batterbury & Ruth Beilin, 2015. "“We Live From Mother Natureâ€," SAGE Open, , vol. 5(3), pages 21582440155, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Stabilization; reform; financial markets; macroeconomic policy; government; history of economic thought; institutions; Latin America; Caribbean;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E63 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Comparative or Joint Analysis of Fiscal and Monetary Policy; Stabilization; Treasury Policy
    • P11 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Planning, Coordination, and Reform
    • B25 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary; Austrian; Stockholm School
    • N16 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Latin America; Caribbean
    • N26 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - Latin America; Caribbean
    • N46 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Latin America; Caribbean

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