Global Development Paradigms, Policy, and Politics 22/23
Global Development Paradigms
What precipitated the shift from Washington to Post-Washington Consensus?
The Washington Consensus was a series of economic policies which were created in the late
1980s and early 1990s and then promoted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World
Bank and the U.S. Treasury Department. These economic policies were created based off
the ideas and beliefs that capitalist free markets, fiscal discipline and open trade were some
of the best ways to promote long term economic growth and reduce poverty in developing
countries (Hurt 2022). However, during that period, the Washington Consensus came under
criticism for its emphasis on market-based solutions and its failure to address the needs of
poorest members of society and that it did not consider the specific circumstances of
individual countries (Schweickert and Thiele 2004). The policies advocated by the IMF were
often imposed on developing countries without sufficient consideration of their unique
social, economic, or political context (Hayami 2003) and this “one size fits all” approach was
seen as the main contribution to the failure of the Washington Consensus instead of the
consensus delivering the desired outcomes that it was created for in many cases (Gore
2000).
This then led to the development of the Post Washington Consensus, which recognised the
need for a more nuanced and flexible approach to a country’s economy and incorporated a
broader range of economic policies and placed greater emphasis on the role of the
government in promoting economic development and growth (Whitehead 2005). On the
one hand, the exact reasons which precipitated the shift from the Washington Consensus to
the Post Washington Consensus can be classed as rather complex and varied, however on
the other hand, these reasons generally involve a growing recognition that the Washington
Global Development Paradigms
What precipitated the shift from Washington to Post-Washington Consensus?
The Washington Consensus was a series of economic policies which were created in the late
1980s and early 1990s and then promoted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World
Bank and the U.S. Treasury Department. These economic policies were created based off
the ideas and beliefs that capitalist free markets, fiscal discipline and open trade were some
of the best ways to promote long term economic growth and reduce poverty in developing
countries (Hurt 2022). However, during that period, the Washington Consensus came under
criticism for its emphasis on market-based solutions and its failure to address the needs of
poorest members of society and that it did not consider the specific circumstances of
individual countries (Schweickert and Thiele 2004). The policies advocated by the IMF were
often imposed on developing countries without sufficient consideration of their unique
social, economic, or political context (Hayami 2003) and this “one size fits all” approach was
seen as the main contribution to the failure of the Washington Consensus instead of the
consensus delivering the desired outcomes that it was created for in many cases (Gore
2000).
This then led to the development of the Post Washington Consensus, which recognised the
need for a more nuanced and flexible approach to a country’s economy and incorporated a
broader range of economic policies and placed greater emphasis on the role of the
government in promoting economic development and growth (Whitehead 2005). On the
one hand, the exact reasons which precipitated the shift from the Washington Consensus to
the Post Washington Consensus can be classed as rather complex and varied, however on
the other hand, these reasons generally involve a growing recognition that the Washington
