AN OVERVIEW OF ZIMBABWE’S MACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

Zimbabwe’s macroeconomics environment has evolved from an inward looking specifically import substitution and very high growth rates during pre-independence to another high growth rate immediately after independence to slow growth rates in the 1990s and virtually negative growth rates in the 2000s. A policy direction maintained during post-independence. Despite high achievements in the areas of health and educationthe economy experienced setbacks in the late 1980s. This was followed by Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) which turned to be a failure. The successor programmes were not successful either. The economy seriously deteriorated in late 1990s. The situation further worsened during the period 2000-2008. The country experienced a runaway inflation, shortage of basic commodities, shortage of foreign currency, capacity underutilisation, exodus of skilled manpower etc. There has been dearth of data in some years e.g when ZIMSTAT stopped publishing inflation statistics as inflation figures became huge and frightening. This paper fills a gap on the dearth of information on Zimbabwe and provide in-depth information for policy makers, prospective investors, researchers and other stakeholders on macroeconomic environment in Zimbabwe for all relevant periods