During the 1990s, reforms in the health and education sectors became a priority in much of the developing world. The surge of attention reflects three sets of pressures: the need to consolidate hard-won fiscal and market-orientated reforms; new or renewed attention to poverty reduction; and the requirements of democratic consolidation. Multilateral organizations, especially the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank, have encouraged and supported this new emphasis and have dramatically increased their lending in ...
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During the 1990s, reforms in the health and education sectors became a priority in much of the developing world. The surge of attention reflects three sets of pressures: the need to consolidate hard-won fiscal and market-orientated reforms; new or renewed attention to poverty reduction; and the requirements of democratic consolidation. Multilateral organizations, especially the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank, have encouraged and supported this new emphasis and have dramatically increased their lending in these areas since the mid-1980s, working closely with reform-minded officials in many countries. But with few exceptions, reforms have proved slow, modest and subject to erosion or reversal.
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