Final answer:
The Washington Consensus is an economic framework that emphasizes free-market principles and was intended to promote fiscal balance, sound macroeconomic indicators, and growth in developing countries. It included a set of policies for economic stability and integration into the global market which is now closely associated with neoliberal economic theory.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Washington Consensus refers to c. An economic framework emphasizing free-market principles and liberalization. It was a set of economic policy recommendations for developing countries that emerged around the early 1990s. The term became associated with policies such as fiscal discipline, the reduction of public subsidies, tax reform, liberalization of interest rates, a competitive exchange rate, trade liberalization, liberalization of inward foreign direct investment, privatization, deregulation, and the protection of property rights.
The aim was to create an economic environment suitable for free market principles to flourish, with an expectation that this would lead to economic stability and growth. Policies under the Washington Consensus were strongly influenced by neoliberalism and promoted by international financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank as part of structural adjustment programs for countries experiencing financial crises.
Although the aim of the Washington Consensus policies was to promote economic growth and stability, they have been the subject of criticism for not adequately addressing the social impacts of rapid economic and structural changes, among other issues.