Sudan: Adjustment and Poverty in the 1980s

This paper provides an assessment of Sudan's structural adjustment efforts during the 1980s and the impact of such efforts on the country's economic performance and poor groups. Its analysis indicates that the unsatisfactory performance of the Sudanese economy during the 1980s was largely due to insufficient and, sometimes, inapproriate policies. Poor economic performance, combined with adverse terms of trade and high rates of population growth, resulted in significant losses in per capita real incomes, thus further intensifying Sudan's urban and rural social distress. This points to the urgent need for a consistent poverty focus in economic policy formulation so as to effectively address the plight of Sudan's poor in future adjustment programs. To this end, the paper outlines some key priority areas for policy action.