Work

The role and influence of the IMF on economic policy in South Africa’s transition to democracy: the 1993 Compensatory and Contingency Financing Facility revisited

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: SUMMARY Many commentators have pointed to the 1993 International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan, which occurred on the eve of South Africa’s democratic elections, as a key factor in explaining the shift in African National Congress (ANC) economic policy in the 1990s. This argument is now invariably taken for granted. Little understanding of the nature of the Compensatory and Contingency Financing Facility (CCFF) is displayed, nor has any hard evidence been produced to back this argument. Drawing upon previously unseen data and reports from both the National Treasury and the IMF, we show that the IMF loan could not have had such an impact on ANC economic policy thinking.

Source: Review of African Political Economy

DOI: 10.1080/03056244.2018.1484352

Authors: Vishnu Padayachee, Ben Fine

Institutions: University of the Witwatersrand, Rhodes University, SOAS University of London

Language: English

Topic: International Development and Aid

Subfield: Development

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: green

Funders: Rhodes University, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London