An economist's tale

by Peter Griffiths

"This is an insider's view of one aid-made crisis. Peter Griffiths was at the interface between government and the Bank. He saw the decisions being made, and why. He saw the pressures put on civil servants, politicians, aid workers, consultants and World Bank officials to do nothing and instead let the crisis develop into a full-blown famine." "In this day by day account of a mission he undertook in Sierra Leone, he uses his diary to tell the story of how the World Bank, obsessed with the free market, imposed a secret agreement, banning all government food imports and subsidies. The collapsing economy meant that the private sector would not import. Famine loomed. No ministry or state marketing organization could reverse the agreement. It had to be a top-level government decision whether Sierra Leone could afford to annoy World Bank officials."--Jacket.