Although the western world economy continued to grow in 1990, developing countries still delivered low or stagnant growth rates. Yet the attention of international institutions' annual reports was directed towards how to reform the economies of Eastern Europe and on the GATT Uruguay round.

This book considers whether the forecasts are right to assume that the basic trend of industrial countries is, largely, immunity to shocks; whether resistance to high interest rates is sustainable and internally consistent; and whether the developing countries which have not yet been able to return to pre-1980s performance will do so.