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Showing posts from October, 2015

The road away from inequality

The Washington Consensus is a set of 10 relatively specific economic policy prescriptions that is considered to constitute the "standard" reform package promoted for crisis-wracked developing countries by Washington, D.C.–based institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and the US Treasury Department. It was coined in 1989 by English economist John Williamson. The prescriptions encompassed policies in such areas as macroeconomic stabilization, economic opening with respect to both trade and investment, and the expansion of market forces within the domestic economy. Fiscal discipline - strict criteria for limiting budget deficits Public expenditure priorities - moving them away from subsidies and administration towards previously neglected fields with high economic returns Tax reform - broadening the tax base and cutting marginal tax rates Financial liberalization - interest rates should ideally be market-determined Exchange rates - s