What is the name of the policy framework that dominated global policies from the 1980s until the early 2000s and advocated privatization and tariff reductions?

• A. Washington Consensus
• B. Neoliberalism
• C. Shock Therapy
• D. Stagflation

Answer: (A)

The Washington Consensus is the policy framework in question. It circulated as the standard set of recommendations for how governments should reform economies from the 1980s into the early 2000s, emphasizing privatization of state enterprises and liberalization of trade and investment, along with other market-oriented measures like deregulation and fiscal discipline. This package was widely promoted by institutions such as the IMF and World Bank and often tied to loans or policy aid, shaping global policy during that period.

While neoliberalism is a broader ideological current that generally favors market-oriented reforms, the Washington Consensus specifically names the concrete policy package that dominated practice. Shock therapy refers to rapid, sweeping reforms in some countries, not the overall framework, and stagflation is an economic condition, not a policy framework.