Fads and Fashion in Economic Reforms: Washington Consensus or Washington Confusion?

October 26, 1999Andrea G

Moisés Naím / International Monetary Fund

What changes more often, the fashion designs coming from Paris and Milan or the economic policy designs Washington and Wall Street prescribe to countries that are less developed or that are emerging from decades of communism? While this comparison may seem frivolous, a review of the ideas that have guided thinking and action about economic reforms in this decade shows that they are as faddish as skirt lengths and tie widths. The difference, of course, is that economic policy fashions affect the way millions of people live and define their children's chances for a better future.