Changes to a nation’s economy usually imposed upon debtor nations by their institutional creditors; for example the International Monetary Fund. Changes include: slimming down of government employment, cuts in taxation to stimulate investment, a reduction in public services, privatization of the economy, the promotion of exports; liberalization, and a reduction in government subsidies in order to bring domestic prices more in line with world prices (Clarke and Howard (2006) Geogr. J. 172, 2) and combat inflation (with great success in Bolivia, for example: Kohl (2006) Antipode 38, 2). However, in countries that have undergone structural adjustment programmes, the majority of citizens have seen their standard of living fall (M. Kurtz 2004). ‘It is clear that structural adjustment policies have negative human rights consequences for loan recipients, [but] these bad outcomes probably have been unintended’ (Abouharb and Cingarelli (2006) Int. Studs Qly. 50, 2). Clarke and Howard (loc. cit.) note mixed effects in Jamaica: while formal employment has fallen in Kingston, the investment in education and housing undertaken by the middle and upper classes has helped them to sustain the dislocation introduced by structural adjustment.

Structural adjustment policies may be adopted unilaterally; see Wong (2007) China & World Econ. 15, 2.