Introduction

Abstract

As an instrument of international economic policy, conditionality is on the increase. Already practised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for nearly half a century, it has in the last decade been applied by both the World Bank and by most bilateral agencies to that growing proportion of their expenditure which goes in the form of programme assistance, or general balance-of-payments support. In recent years, the scope of conditionality has widened further: both the established development agencies and new ones such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have commit-ted themselves to tie their disbursement not only to an improvement in the recipient’s economic policy but also to evidence of multi-party democracy, respect for human rights and other components of ‘good government’.