Analyzing Poverty and Policy Reform

Based on four years of continuous househousehold survey data, this study documents the impact of structural adjustment on poverty. The basic messages are that the poor people are better protected during a period of managed macroeconomic adjustment than under recession or destabilization, and that the poorest people are most likely to suffer the most in conditions of economic recession. The set of economic problems encountered by Cote d'Ivoire in the 1980's were shared by many African countries, and the book highlights the lessons which may be valid for other countries.