Structural adjustment, alienation, and mass protest

Reinsberg, B. , Stubbs, T. and Bujnoch, L. (2023) Structural adjustment, alienation, and mass protest. Social Science Research, 109, 102777. (doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2022.102777)

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Abstract

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is (in)famous for its structural adjustment programs, which provide fresh credit for borrowing governments in exchange for market-liberalizing policy reforms. While studies have documented a causal relationship between structural adjustment and political instability, scholarly understanding of the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain perfunctory. The received wisdom is that IMF policy conditions generate material hardship which then drives political instability. We advance an additional pathway—that instability is also prompted by alienation effects related to the foreign imposition of policies. Drawing on a sample of up to 168 countries between 1980 and 2014, we test for the presence of both mechanisms. Our results suggest that there are alienation effects, indicated by a persistent protest-inducing impact of IMF program participation when controlling for market-liberalizing conditions, and especially when programs are concluded by left-wing governments and non-repeat borrowers. We also find evidence of hardship effects, indicated by a positive relationship between the intensity of fiscal austerity required and the number of protests. Our findings have important implications for the relationship between structural adjustment, contentious politics, and the role of international organizations in domestic policy reform.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:Funding by the Gerda Henkel Foundation (“The human security implications of market-liberalizing policy reforms by the International Monetary Fund”) is gratefully acknowledged.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Bujnoch, Dr Louis and Reinsberg, Dr Bernhard
Authors: Reinsberg, B., Stubbs, T., and Bujnoch, L.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
Journal Name:Social Science Research
Publisher:Elsevier
ISSN:0049-089X
ISSN (Online):1096-0317
Published Online:12 August 2022
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2022 The Authors
First Published:First published in Social Science Research 109:102777
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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