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№ 2020/1

Political economy


YESHCHENKO P. 1

1Institute of Sociology, NAS of Ukraine

Ukraine in the debt trap of the IMF

Ekon. teor. 2020; 1:19-36https://doi.org/10.15407/etet2020.01.019


ABSTRACT ▼

The article reveals the IMF lending policy towards Ukraine in the context of eco-nomic reforms. Based on the analysis of a large array of statistical and empirical materials, the author proves the incapacity and failure of radical economic re-forms under the auspices of the IMF in Ukraine and the development of negative processes in this country, which lead to its transformation into a raw material ap-pendage of the "golden billion" countries. The IMF's lending policy has contributed to the growth of the Ukraine’s external and internal debt and the introduction of foreign capital in all spheres of its life.
Reforms in our country under the Washington Consensus are carried out in the interests of foreign capital and are reduced to their structural restructuring through marketing, privatization, liberalization and deregulation. All this leads to deindus-trialization of the national economy, opening-up to foreign capital, reduced social expenditures, and weaken state regulation of the labor market. Ukraine, from its own experience becomes increasingly convinced that curing its economy with the IMF's "assistance" is holding this country’s own economic growth and is accompanied increased inequity in income sharing.
IMF programs cost millions of people their jobs, denying them access to adequate health care, education systems and decent housing. Complying with IMF requirements leads to further collapse of our economy, total impoverishment, looting of the remnants of Ukrainian state property by foreign oligarchs and foreign TNCs, and the transition of our most important wealth - land - into the ownership of agricultural holdings. In order to free Ukraine from financial and credit dependence, it is proposed to encourage the national economy through a rapid growth of wages and pensions, which would increase the purchasing power of the households and revive business activities

Keywords:macroeconomic indicators, external debt, domestic debt, debt trap, government liabilities, dollarization, cost of labor as a commodity, subsidies, neoliberal policy


JEL: O11, O19

Article in English (pp. 19 - 36)
Article in Russian (pp. 19 - 36) DownloadDownloads :411
Article in Ukrainian (pp. 19 - 36) DownloadDownloads :414

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