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Washington Consensus

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Washington Consensus
The term was first coined by John Williamson in 1989, an economist from the institute for international economics in Washington, D.C. Williamson used the term to summarize policy advice from Washington based institutions such as the US treasury, the IMF and the World Bank, that were believed to be necessary for the recovery of countries in Latin America from the economic and financial crises in the 1980s.

The Washington Consensus is a set of 10 policies that the US treasury, the IMF and the World Bank believed were necessary elements of “first stage policy reform” that all countries should adopt to increase economic growth.

At its heart is an emphasis on the importance of macroeconomic stability and integration into the international economy - in other words a neo-liberal view of globalization. The framework included:

* Fiscal discipline - strict criteria for limiting budget deficits * Public expenditure priorities - moving them away from subsidies and administration towards previously neglected fields as key pro-growth like primary education, primary health care and infrastructure invest. * Tax reform - broadening the tax base and cutting marginal tax rates * Financial liberalization - interest rates should ideally be market-determined * Exchange rates - should be managed to induce rapid growth in non-traditional exports * Trade liberalization: liberalization of imports, eliminating quantitative restrictions (licensing etc.) * Increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) - by reducing barriers * Privatization - state enterprises should be privatized * Deregulation - abolition of regulations that impede the entry of new firms or restrict competition (except in the areas of safety, environment and finance) * Secure intellectual property rights (IPR) - without excessive costs and available to the

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