conditions under which industrialized countries had developed, grown and prospered in the past were now discouraged by the IMF through its SAPs. Removal of trade and financial barriers The erosion of the Bretton-Woods-System in 1971 and the end of capital controls caused multinational corporations (MNCs) to gain access to large sums of capital that they wanted to invest in new markets, such as in developing countries. However, foreign capital could not be freely invested yet because most of these countries protected their nascent industries against it. This changed radically with the implementation of SAPs in the 1980s and 1990s, when controls on foreign exchange and financial protection barriers were lifted: Economies opened up and foreign direct investment (FDI) flowed in en masse. A great example of this is the fall of the local textile industry within many African nations, replaced in part by Chinese counterfeits and knockoffs. The scholars Cardoso and Faletto judged this as yet another way of capitalist control of the Northern industrialized countries, it also brought advantages to local elites and to larger, more profitable companies who expanded in size and influence. However, smaller, less industrialized businesses and the agricultural sector suffered from reduced protection and the growing importance of transnational actors led to a decline in national control over production. Overall, it can be said that the debt crisis of the 1980s provided the IMF with the necessary leverage to impose very similar comprehensive neoliberal reforms in over 70 developing countries, thereby entirely restructuring these economies. The goal was to shift them away from state intervention and inward-oriented development and to transform them into export-led, private sector-driven economies open to foreign imports and FDI. Privatization of utilities Privatization of utilities given into by imposed structural adjustment has had negative effects on the reliability and affordability of access to water and electricity in developing countries such as Cameroon, Ghana, Nicaragua, Pakistan and others. Advantages Autonomy: During the entire SAL loan process, member countries always have the initiative in policy selection. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are obliged to provide member countries with advice, guidance and policy building, but they have no right to replace members. The country’s arbitration guarantees the economic autonomy of the member states. Flexibility. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have always taken flexible measures to avoid rigid lending regulations due to insufficient understanding of a country’s situation. For