Re‐evaluating IMF involvement in low‐income countries: the case of Haiti Available to Purchase

During the last two decades, the focus of IMF involvement in the developing world, and especially in the low‐income countries, has shifted. For example, IMF involvement became not only more long term, but also oriented toward policy reform, rather than only assisting with a macroeconomic crisis. In this paper, we examine the importance of a qualitative factor, namely the perception of the local population towards structural adjustment programmes, and argue that it will have a significant impact on the success or failure of IMF‐supported programmes. In addition, we suggest that liberalisation and deregulation in low‐income countries, like Haiti, may actually reduce the rate of economic growth.