Problems of adjustment in developing countries

The subject on which I have been invited to make an introductory speech in this colloquium relates to the special problems of adjustment in developing countries. This is indeed a happy coincidence, since stabilisation and adjustment policies in developing countries have been of priority interest to WIDER (World Institute for Development Economics Research, Helsinki), and have constituted an important part of our very first research programme. I am glad to say that we have recently completed a series of studies on the stabilisation and adjustment experience of eighteen developing countries, which have already been released as part of WIDER publications. It is therefore appropriate that I should use the present opportunity to call attention to some of the significant findings of these studies.