Structural adjustment policies, income distribution and poverty: A review of the jamaican experience

Revisiting the Effects of IMF Programs on Poverty and Inequality

“…On the one hand, sectors that were protected before the liberalization contract, what leads to lower incomes in these areas. On the other hand, according to the Stolper-Samuelson theorem, trade liberalization leads to increased demand and higher wages for unskilled workers in countries that are relatively abundant in unskilled labor (Handa & King 1997). Thus, the theoretical effect of trade liberalization on poverty ambiguous and depends on production, trade, and consumption patterns (Gunter et al 2005).…”

“…Economists broadly agree that high levels of inflation have negative consequences on economic growth and poverty. Some studies, however, find that countries that maintain macroeconomic stability do not necessarily gain sig-8 See Handa & King (1997), and Johnson & Salop (1980), cited by Vreeland (2002). 9 See Handa & King (1997) and Nooruddin & Simmons (2006) for evidence that participation in IMF programs leads to a decrease in social expenditure, and Martin & Segura-Ubiergo (2004) for evidence against it.…”

“…Some studies, however, find that countries that maintain macroeconomic stability do not necessarily gain sig-8 See Handa & King (1997), and Johnson & Salop (1980), cited by Vreeland (2002). 9 See Handa & King (1997) and Nooruddin & Simmons (2006) for evidence that participation in IMF programs leads to a decrease in social expenditure, and Martin & Segura-Ubiergo (2004) for evidence against it. 10 See Bourguignon et al (1992), Garuda (2000), Kanbur (1987), and Pastor (1987) for more details about the effects of financial reforms on poverty.…”

IMF Lending and Poverty in Developing Countries

“…In the 'pro-IMF' strand, Handa and King (1996) focus on Jamaica, and find that poverty was impressively reduced during 1989-1993, when most of the World Bank and IMF-led reforms took place. Dercon and Krishnan (1998) obtain the same finding for the case of Ethiopia in the 1989-1995 period.…”

Emergy-Based Adjustment of the Agricultural Structure in a Low-Carbon Economy in Manas County of China

“…Evans [6] reappraised the farm adjustment strategy in terms of its ability to illuminate contemporary agricultural changes. Handa [7] reviewed Jamaican structural adjustment policies that considered inequality and poverty. Using the agent-based spatial and dynamic simulation model AgriPoliS, Happe [8] investigated the relationship between structural change in agriculture and policy regime switch at the regional level by simulating the changes that occurred in two different farm structures in response to the policy change.…”