Editing History of Zambia (section)

===Economy and the copper crisis===
After independence, Zambia adopted a [[Left (politics)|left]]-wing economic policy. The economy was, to some extent, run by central planning under five year plans. Private companies were [[nationalised]] and incorporated into large state-owned conglomerates. The government's goal was to be self-sufficient, which it sought to achieve through [[import substitution]]. At first, the plan worked and the economy grew steadily. However, in the mid-1970s, the economy started to decline drastically. During the period between 1975 and 1990 Zambia's economy dropped by approximately 30%.<ref name="EconomyDrop">{{cite web
| url = http://www.bized.co.uk/virtual/dc/back/econ.htm
| title = Zambia - Economic History
| publisher = Biz/ed
| access-date = 2006-10-11
}}</ref>

To deal with the crisis, Zambia took big loans from the [[International Monetary Fund]] and the [[Worldbank]] hoping that copper prices would rise again soon, instead of issuing structural reforms.