a set of 10 economic policy prescriptions considered to constitute the "standard" reform package promoted for crisis-wracked developing countries by Washington, D.C.–based institutions like the IMF and the World Bank (in a nutshell, neoliberalism); term first used in 1989 by English economist John Williamson
Kabila’s government had no independent access to capital markets: the only way of securing credit lay through the IMF’s Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) programme, where debt relief was tied to the usual requirements of the Washington Consensus
I've seen this term a whole bunch but I stupidly didn't realise that the IMF and WB were based in DC! of course it makes sense now that I think about it though