The IMF's Prescription
A Critical Analysis of IMF Conditionalities in the MENA Region by Shady Hassan
Between 2010-2024, MENA nations were bound by
IMF Conditionalities attached to lending programs
This infographic dissects the IMF's policy-based conditions, revealing how moments of national crisis are leveraged to enforce a consistent economic doctrine.
The Weight of Conditions: Epicenters of Austerity
The burden of IMF conditionality is not shared equally. A few countries are subjected to over a hundred policy dictates, revealing significant and sustained periods of externally-managed economic policy.
Waves of Intervention
The number of conditions surges in specific years, often coinciding with regional instability or severe economic downturns. The spike in 2016 reflects major programs where crises were met with a concentrated set of IMF policy demands.
The Neoliberal Blueprint
IMF conditionalities are not neutral technical advice. They represent a coherent ideological framework designed to restructure economies. This framework is built on four key pillars of structural adjustment.
Fiscal Shock Therapy
Mandating deep cuts in public spending, eliminating subsidies on essentials like food and fuel, and increasing regressive taxes (like VAT) that hit the poorest the hardest. The primary goal is rapid deficit reduction, regardless of social cost.
Privatization Mandates
Forcing the sale of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in strategic sectors like energy, telecommunications, and banking. This transfers public assets and revenue streams to private (often foreign) investors.
Monetary Straitjacket
Requiring central banks to aggressively raise interest rates and restrict credit to control inflation. This often stifles economic growth, increases unemployment, and makes domestic borrowing more expensive for local businesses.
Market Liberalization
Imposing broad deregulation of labor markets, removing price controls, and liberalizing trade and capital accounts. This aims to open the economy completely to international market forces, often undermining local industries and worker protections.
Country-Specific Prescriptions
Jordan
Conditions
Subjected to relentless fiscal consolidation. Conditions repeatedly target the national electricity company (NEPCO) and water sector, forcing tariff hikes and subsidy cuts that directly impact citizens' cost of living.
Mauritania
Conditions
Programs have focused heavily on monetary policy, forcing the central bank to tighten credit and raise interest rates, alongside demands for privatizing key state assets and reforming public sector employment.
Egypt
Conditions
The 2016 program, which contained 61 conditions, imposed a severe shock therapy program including currency devaluation and subsidy cuts, setting the stage for subsequent policy requirements that deepened austerity.