n.
The quality of being conditional, or limited; limitation by certain terms.
Conditionality
| Dictionary: Con·di·tion·al·i·ty |
n.
| 5min Related Video: Conditionality |
| Political Dictionary: conditionality |
Idea that external credit or funding should be advanced to a government only where a programme of economic or political reforms was to be implemented. The concept is associated with funding provided by the IMF, particularly since the 1970s, when conditionality was seen as a way of enhancing government credit without generating inflationary or foreign exchange pressures. Financial support would be forthcoming only with agreements on macro-economic policy and reform of trading policy, with the hope that such measures would enhance a government's economic credibility and credit-worthiness. Since the 1980s, as the IMF and World Bank have extended lending and funding programmes in the Third World and the post-communist states, the focus of conditionality has been on the establishment of open economies and other aspects of structural adjustment. Since conditionality is based on the existence of external constraints to ensure virtuous government behaviour in the long term, there are always likely to be tensions between short-term domestic incentives and the expectations of international funding bodies. Conditionality has been criticized for imposing the model of Western political liberalism on countries where it may not be appropriate or supported by the people; exposing poor countries to competition and exploitation from companies in wealthier countries; and for focusing on economic growth rather than promotion of social reform and equality. (See also development.)
— Alistair McMillan
| WordNet: conditionality |
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
the state of being conditional
| Wikipedia: Conditionality |
For other uses, see Conditionality (disambiguation).
Conditionality is a concept in international development, political economy and international relations and describes the use of conditions attached to a loan, debt relief, bilateral aid or membership of international organizations, typically by the international financial institutions, regional organizations or donor countries.
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International financial institutions
Conditionality is typically employed by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank or a donor country with respect to loans, debt relief and financial aid. Conditionalities may involve relatively uncontroversial requirements to enhance aid effectiveness, such as anti-corruption measures, but they may involve highly controversial ones, such as austerity or the privatization of key public services, which may provoke strong political opposition in the recipient country. These conditionalities are often grouped under the label structural adjustment as they were prominent in the structural adjustment programs following the debt crisis of the 1980s.
'Tied' aid
Other types of conditionality that often occur are aid which is tied to be used on a specific way. For example, many countries tie aid to the purchasing of domestic products, although this practice has drastically decreased over the past 15 years. The United Nations Human Development Report in 2005 estimated that only about 8 per cent of bilateral aid is 'tied', down from 27 per cent in 1990. This however varies from country to country with the United Kingdom, Ireland and Norway giving 100 per cent of their aid untied, and Canada, Austria and Spain giving less than 60 per cent. [1]
European Union
The European Union also employs conditionality with respect to enlargement, with membership conditional on candidate countries meeting the Copenhagen criteria and adopting the acquis communautaire.
See also
References
Stefan Koeberle, Harold Bedoya, Peter Silarsky, and Gero Verheyen (editors) (2005). Conditionality Revisited: Concepts, Experiences, and Lessons. The World Bank. ISBN 0-8213-6013-2.
Axel Dreher (2002). The Development and Implementation of IMF and World Bank Conditionality. HWWA. ISSN 1616-4814.
External links
- World Bank conditionality [2]
- Conditionality in IMF-supported programs - overview [3]
- David Hall and Robin de la Motte, Dogmatic Development: Privatisation and conditionalities in six countries, War on Want [4]
- "The Future of Aid Conditionality", Globalization Institute [5]
- Big Picture TV Free video clip of Martin Khor (Director, Third World Network) speaking about structural adjustment
- ActionAid, April 2004, "Money talks: How aid conditions continue to drive utility privatisation in poor countries"
- Eurodad, November 2007, [6]Untying the knots - How the World Bank is failing to deliver real change on conditionality
- European Network on Debt and Development reports, news and links on conditionality. [7]
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 | Dictionary. Webster 1913 Dictionary edited by Patrick J. Cassidy Read more |
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| Political Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics. Copyright © 1996, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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