Inasmuch as stabilization policies and market reforms came with visible social costs, compensatory social policies (including emergency employment programmes, social investment funds and other targeted poverty reduction programmes) were introduced in the 1990s, often with heavy support from the international community. This reflected the recognition by the Washington Consensus that markets would not immediately resolve the severest equity and poverty problems. However, by and large, the focus remained on aggregate growth, to be achieved primarily by relying on markets. Moreover, in most instances, the elimination of subsidies, introduction of user fees and privatization of services did not prove to be particularly successful in either reducing costs or enhancing the coverage of social service delivery. By the end of the 1990s, these disappointing outcomes had led to a rethinking of development goals and strategy. The focus shifted once again back to defining poverty reduction as an explicit goal, rather than as an implicit or indirect one.