Impact of IMF Austerity Policies on Social Protection - Click here to read the full report
Dr. Mohammed Said al-Saadi, Research Professor in Political Economy
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) plays an influential role in formulating the economic and social policies of member countries, often with direct consequences on the livelihood of their populations, particularly limited-income and poor segments. Although this role was on the decline in the 2000s, the IMF has been regain- ing influence and dominance on the global lev- el, exploiting the urgent situation caused by the deep structural crisis in global capital continuing to cast its shadow on the entire world.
This time, the IMF’s strong return could be seen in its direct intervention in the Eurozone, where it imposed strict austerity measures to the great detriment of the region’s people, without leading to a significant improvement in economic indicators, such as growth rates, budget deficit, or public debt levels. With the intensification of the global economic crisis, the geographical scope of this intervention started to expand, especially in the global South. As a result, the IMF is beginning to acquire a powerful impact on economic and social policy-making in several Arab countries, where the features of austerity are blatant, with its attendant negative consequences on the social question in general and social protection and subsidies on basic goods in particular.
The first section of this paper will be dedicated to the critical role carried out by the IMF, with a focus on its interventions in the Arab region. The second section will review austerity policies imposed by the IMF on Arab countries and their negative consequences on economic growth and the social question in general. The third section will address the impact of austerity, highlighting the problem of subsidies on basic goods and weaknesses in the related solutions proposed by the IMF.
Impact of IMF Austerity Policies on Social Protection - Click here to read the full report - this paper is part of the Arab Watch Report 2014
Dr. Mohammed Said al-Saadi, Research Professor in Political Economy
