Frances Stewart is Director of the International Development Centre, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford. She was Special Adviser on Adjustment Policies to UNICEF and is a Council member of the United Nations University. She has published widely on a range of development topics and is recognised as a leading authority on this subject.

Preface 1 Introduction 2 The impact of macro-adjustment policies on the incomes of the poor-a review of alternative approaches 3 Meso-policy choices and the poor 4 Food subsidies: two errors of targeting 5 Adjustment and social funds: political panacea or effective poverty reduction? 6 Structural adjustment policies and the poor in Africa: an analysis of the 1980s 7 The Latin American and Caribbean story 8 Conclusions

The last decade has brought sharp adjustment and rising poverty for most of the developing world. Adjustment and Poverty: Options and Choices examines the major causes and results of this situation, including:

*the relationship between structural adjustment and poverty;
*the extent to which the situation was brought about by internal and/or external policies;
*the impact of the IMF and World Bank on adjusting countries;
*government tax and spending policies - with a particular focus on social sector spending;
*the possiblity of better policies in the future.