Structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) consist of loans provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) to countries that experienced economic crises.[1] The two Bretton Woods Institutions require borrowing countries to implement certain policies in order to obtain new loans (or lower interest rates on existing ones). The conditionality clauses attached to the loans have been criticized because of their effects on the social sector.[1]
SAPs are created with the goal of reducing the borrowing country's fiscal imbalances in the short and medium term or in order to adjust the economy to long-term growth.[2] The bank from which a borrowing country receives its loan depends upon the type of necessity. The IMF usually implements stabilisation policies and the WB is in charge of adjustment measures.[2]