Resource information
This paper analyzes the available
literature about the effects of structural adjustment
programs (SAPs) on the environment and the convincing
evidence for their success or failure. The studies covered
refer to the SAPs by the World Bank as well as to general
government programs that have similar policy implications.
SAPs are designed to reform economies to become more
liberalized and export-oriented while reducing the role of
governments that have become inefficient bureaucracies.
Because of the implications of policies such as debt
accumulation and trade, a concise literature review on debt
and trade liberalization is also included. Despite the
controversy surrounding structural adjustment and the
environment, the debate has been largely based on anecdotal
evidence and country case studies. Most of the studies
reviewed are not quantitative and have not applied rigorous
statistical methods. The conclusions of studies on the
effects of structural adjustment (SA) on the environment are
strongly influenced by what is examined, the sectoral level,
and the stage of the SA process. The infrequency of
high-caliber studies is due to data scarcity and statistical
limitations. There is little reason to doubt, however, that
over the longer term, the sorts of changes in incentive
structures and relative price changes brought about by SA
lending will have an impact on the environment. Economies
undergoing SA will experience both growth (assuming the
success of SAPs) and structural shifts, which will affect
the extraction of natural resources and the level of
pollution emissions.
