Over the last two decades the winds have become more persistently chilling for many developing countries whose economies have fallen into the throes of profound and unprecedented economic crises. The halcyon years of the 1950s and l960s, which were characterised by rapid expansion of many socioeconomic sectors, have been replaced by a period of restraint and decline. Falling Gross National Product (GNP) and per capita incomes, retrenchment in public expenditures and cuts in take-home pay have occurred more frequently and proved enduring. 

The articles in this special issue of the IDS Bulletin on 'Adjusting Education to Economic Crisis' attempt to deal with some of these issues. They provide a set of authoritative analyses of the choices currently confronting education policy-makers in hard-pressed economies.