When recession began to take hold in the developed countries, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund began to impose structural adjustment programmes to try to stabilise the economies of debtor nations, protect creditors and generally shore up the international economy (Bello and Cunningham, 1994). The tool used to try and stimulate growth, and ensure debt repayment, fight various inefficiencies and improve the flow of traded goods, was the structural adjustment loan. Structural adjustment began in Turkey in 1980, and by 1990 another sixty-four countries had adopted measures. These measures varied in detail from country to country, but were always granted on condition the recipient deregulated their economy, reduced state expenditure and freed exchange rates. The goal was to give priority to export earnings, make the economy more efficient by cutting spending on wages and welfare, and reduce state controls to boost productive sectors.