social impact of structural adjustment on the Caribbean: The case of Jamaica, 1989-1993

The International Monetary Fund/World Bank's campaign to restructure and revitalize Third World economies has been underway since 1977 but with little positive reviews. In the meantime, the living standards of the poor in these countries continue to deteriorate as more adjustment measures are employed. The purpose of this study is to challenge the "long-term benefits" argument by demonstrating that implementation of adjustment policies correlates with social decline. The study takes the form of a case study of Jamaica and traces the historical developments to explain the current debt crisis. A number of social indicators which include cost of living, health, education, housing and crime are used to assess and determine the relationship between structural adjustment and living standards. The study concludes that because the aim of these financial institutions is debt recovery, there is little regard for human resource development, an area that is key to breaking the current cycle of dependency. The result is an inverse relationship between structural adjustment and social well-being.