Pathways Through Financial Crisis: South Africa‪.‬

When apartheid ended in South Africa in 1994, the incoming democratic administration inherited a political system, economy, and social system infrastructure in profound crisis, as well as an external financial crisis. It did not borrow from the International Monetary Fund. Having fought hard for sovereignty, the new government was unwilling to cede influence to the IMF (or World Bank) or indeed to acquire any dependence on external creditors. Instead, the government of national unity embarked on its own home-grown structural adjustment program. Reconstruction and development, which were planned within fiscal limits that critics allege were far too tight, were accompanied by institutional and policy changes (such as trade liberalization and greater central bank autonomy) designed to encourage international investment. KEYWORDS: financial crisis, South Africa, apartheid, reconstruction, development, contagion, International Monetary Fund, Reconstruction and Development Program. **********