This thesis analyzes the effects of external shocks and government policy responses on the current account in Kenya. We attempt to isolate two effects on the current account which arise from the impact of external shocks to the economy. The first one is attributed to a direct response by private agents to the shock. The second arises from the optimal response by the government to counteract the effects of the shock on the economy and depends on the government's objectives. It is hypothesized that these two effects can explain the behavior of the current account in many developing countries. / Much of the literature in developing countries ignores the indirect effect of government policy on private sector behavior and hence its effect on the current account. Moreover, the models emphasize empirical analysis with little or no theoretical foundation. / In this thesis, an intertemporal framework is postulated with rational optimizing agents. It is assumed that following an external shock, the rational behavior of economic agents is to adjust their production and spending behavior in an optimal manner. Depending on the degree of flexibility in the economy, the effect of this response is to reduce domestic absorption and thus improve the current account. At the same time, the government responds by undertaking policies which optimize its objectives given the shock. The overall effect may or may not improve the current account. / The reactions of both the government and the private sector are analyzed in the context of a game in which it is assumed that each agent takes the other's behavior into account when formulating economic decisions. Two types of equilibria are examined: a Nash non-cooperative concurrent game; and a non-cooperative Stackleberg structure. / The theoretical framework is along the lines of Conway who has undertaken a similar study for Turkey, a semi-industrialized economy. The model specification and the estimating equations are however modified to capture key features of the Kenyan economy. / The empirical results show that external shocks, particularly increases in the price of imported inputs and exchange rate devaluation have a contractionary effect on the Kenyan economy. Fox example, producers responded to an increase in the price of imported inputs by reducing the demand for the inputs as well as the demand for labor. As predicted by the theory, both the government and private agents responded to the shocks in an attempt to maximize their objectives. It is argued that the optimal responses of these agents are not necessarily in each other's interest implying that each agent will react to counteract the undesirable effects of the other's behavior. The interaction between the government and the private sector can be explained by a Stackleberg game structure where the government is the leader. Also, both the direct and indirect effects of the shocks are found to be important in explaining the behavior of the current account in Kenya.

No description available.

Data used in this study showed that many rural development projects in Kenya are not successfully implemented. This failure among rural projects has a negative impact on rural development in Kenya. Therefore, the purpose of this research effort was to show whether a centralized planning approach or a decentralized planning approach would be most successful in implementing rural projects in Kenya.Three rural projects were examined to show which be used in developing rural Kenya. Based on the definitions stated in chapter one, one project was thought to be nationally planned and two projects were thought to be locally planned. However, research revealed that all the three projects were centrally planned. Research also showed that the area covered by the project and availability of the project's research component play an important part in the success of a rural development project.Recommendations were made for further research on rural development which would lead to better solutions in developing countries of Africa. / Department of Urban Planning

A Master’s degree Dissertation presented in partial Fulfilment for the Award of Master of Management in Public Policy at University of Witwatersrand, Wits School of Governance (WSG), 2016 / As a result of the dependency created during the colonial period and later through preferential trade initiatives, Europe has been and continues to be Kenya’s major trading partner. The current trade relationship between Kenya and Europe was recently formalised after the signing of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), a reciprocal and comprehensive free trade agreement that is legal under Article XXIV of General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT). The agreement has caused great debate on whether it is truly beneficial to Kenya in light of the asymmetrical levels of development, with many questioning what role the agreement will play towards sustainable growth and development and specifically in the horticultural sub-sector. Sharing the pitfalls of both the Lomé Convention and Cotonou Agreement that failed to deliver the expected development there is reason to believe that few gains will be made by signing the EPAs as they are today. The horticultural sub-sector is a major provider of employment, especially in the rural areas, and is the second largest foreign exchange earner for Kenya. Facing increasing domestic and international demand, coupled with continued and enhanced market access to Europe, participation in the highly profitable sub-sector has the potential of transforming rural agriculture by presenting an opportunity for small-scale farmers to increase their income and reduce poverty. As a non-Least Developed Country (LDC) country, the loss of trade preference for Kenya could severely undermine export competitiveness and damage the horticultural sub-sector which is heavily dependent on exports to the European Union (EU). The main objectives of the Kenyan government for signing the EPAs include sustaining the current market preferences, avoiding macroeconomic instability and the disruption of economic activities in the agricultural sector. The study found that, given Kenya’s substantial dependency on the horticultural sub-sector and the limited trade schemes options available to engage in trade with the EU, the government had no option but to sign the EPAs. The failure to diversify the economy, inadequate public institutions, insufficient human and financial capacity, declining public investments in agriculture and limited intra-African trade and the failure to seek other market destinations are some of the reasons why the government entered into the agreement. The Kenyan government needs to aggressively increase investments in the agricultural sector in order to enable transformation and promote diversification through value addition. Manufacturing should be prioritised as this will enable the economy to become less exposed to commodity price fluctuations. The government should seek to develop and increase intraAfrica trade as well as explore other market options in Asia, North America and South America in efforts to lessen Kenya’s dependency on Europe. Further, Kenya and other African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries should, instead of signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) such as an EPA, collectively call for an improved EU General Scheme of Preference (GSP) tailored for both LDC and non-LDC countries that would provide real cooperation and development. / XL2018

No description available.

This dissertation examines the attempts by the government of Kenya to develop and implement policies directed toward the problem of urban unemployment. Specifically, this study focuses upon two policy areas directly related to the problem of urban unemployment: education and economic growth. Central to the urban unemployment problem is a potential conflict arising out of a rapidly growing number of school graduates on the one hand, and on the other, the limited opportunities for a sufficient level of employment for this segment of the labor force. An additional element of this study is an examination of the possible consequences of Kenya's external dependency upon the linkages between education, economic growth, and employment opportunities. A consistent theme contained in the development literature is that accelerated development in Third World nations such as Kenya depends upon enlarging the supply of educated and trained manpower. Without such manpower, it is argued, development leadership would be woefully lacking and economic growth would be retarded. On the basis of these assumptions, Kenya, like many other developing countries, has focused its attention on the rapid quantitative expansion of school enrollments from primary school to the university. In recent years, however, the idea that conventional educational expansion is an unmitigated social good and an engine for development has been challenged by the emergence of graduate unemployment. The dynamic rate of economic growth and a forceful campaign of Kenyanization have proven impossible to create sufficient employment to meet the now growing numbers of Kenyan students who feel themselves qualified. In an attempt to resolve this problem, government policies have been directed toward improving the different components of the school system: examinations, curriculum reform, and vocational and technical education. However, the impact of these educational strategies in solving the unemployment problem has been extremely limited by the restricted market for technical and vocational skills in the country. The result of this study suggests that the roots of the unemployment problem are in the structure of the society, and particularly in the failure of the Kenyan economy to industrialize and modernize at a rate that absorbs the labor force. These economic problems are traded to Kenya's continued dependency on external economic assistance, which reduces its ability to determine the course of national development independently. This economic problem is of such a magnitude, it can only be solved by structural adjustments, both internally and externally. The findings of this study confirm the dependency argument.

Food-for-Work (FFW) was conceived as both a short-run assistance program for meeting basic food needs of low income households, and as a long-run developmental tool for building infrastructure and for providing income to ease capital constraints on farm production. However, it was feared that FFW might divert labor from own-farm production and reduce the level of locally produced food crops. The purpose of this dissertation was to empirically examine these hypotheses in the Ewalel and Marigat locations of Baringo District, Rift Valley Province, Kenya. A househoId-firm model that integrated both production and consumption concerns of FFW was developed. The model was block recursive. First, production decisions were made by maximizing net returns (net income) subject to production constraints. This output (income) was then substituted into the budget constraint, and household utility was maximized subject to this budget constraint and to a total time constraint. The data used in the study was drawn from a representative sample of 300 households were randomly selected in Marigat-Ewalel locations. Of these, 100 were found to be participants in the FFW Project supported by the UN/FAO World Food Program. Food items provided to the program in the study area are maize, beans, and vegetable oil. A two-year linear programming model was developed for the production segment of the model. ln this model, three crops under two technologies and two types of livestock were used. The household consumption component of the model was specified econometrically using systems of demand equations, the Almost ldeal Demand System. Seven commodities including FFW items, five foods, non-food and leisure, were used in the system. The analysis was conducted for both participant and non-participant households to compare levels of production activities, employment, income, and consumption patterns with and without the FFW program. The production component of the analysis revealed that the following results were associated with FFW in the study area: (a) augments own-farm output by contributing to the minimum nutrient 1 requirement, (b) eases the capital-constraint by the second year of participation, (c) increases the marketable surplus from both own-crop and livestock production, (d) increases hired labor in farm production, (e) causes a shift from maize to millet production, and (f) increases savings. As a result, the net income for the representative farm households with FFW is 52% higher than those without FFW; and participation in the FFW program declines by 11% from year 1 to year 2. Thus, disincentive effects on own-farm employment and output were not found in this study. In fact, according to the model used, the FFW Program could be expanded by either increasing the monthly participation hours or the number of participants without resulting in any production disincentive. The results of the entire household-firm model, which reveals the changes in consumption resulting from participation in FFW and changes in income, were derived in elasticity form. Most of the benefits to the representative participant households, as compared to non-participants, take the form of increased consumption of food items. Thus, the primary effects of FFW are to insure participants increased consumption and saving without creating disincentives to either own-farming or to local agricultural production. / Ph. D.

This study examines the origin, the manifestation and impact of the direct taxation of Africans in Kenya. While the state had several reasons for imposing taxation on Africans, the basic factor weighed on the need for a definitive source of revenue. For most of the colonial period, this aggregated to about 37½ percent of the total revenues. The thesis shows how taxes were collected from Africans, how this led to participation in the cash economy and how they continually resisted and evaded such taxation. Tax collection was synonymous with colonialism and this was manifested through the central role of chiefs, who used taxes and force to coerce Africans into migrant wage labour. Through taxation policies, legislation and African resourcefulness, migrant wage labour served the needs of a colonial capitalist settler economy. In this way, the colonial state revealed its capacity for dominance, power and exploitation. Evidence has been adduced to show that African taxation was an important factor in Kenya’s administrative, political and economic development. The policy of African taxation, land loss and poor working conditions are remembered as having interfered with African mechanisms for accumulating wealth. One of the main objections of the payment of taxes was the manner of its collection. Those unable to pay were imprisoned or detained while many took to instant flight at the sight of the tax collector. The thesis shows that in spite of all these harsh tax collection methods, peasants remained largely resilient and industrious. The Mau Mau movement was the culmination of various peasant grievances in which the colonial state used steep taxation as a counter-insurgency measure. Kenya’s independence in 1963, however, never altered the predatory nature of the state. Subtle, opportunistic and overt ways continued to be used to extract taxes from the peasants and the working class. It was not until 1973 that the much-hated colonial poll tax that had been renamed as graduated poll tax was abolished and replaced by indirect taxation. Finally, taxation like other colonial legacies has endured and has become one of the most important sources of revenue for the government to manage its fiscal policies.

The era of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) is so significant in the development of the Less Developed Countries (LDCs) as was the era of the Industrial Revolution in the development of the now More Developed countries (MDCs). It could be referred to as one of the major economic frontiers in the LDCs as is the computer frontier in the MDCs now. Naturally therefore, there are problems of distrust, fear of eventual crisis, uncertainty of the correct path and a pain in policy making. Coupled with the North/South delicate relationship, the MNC's (which mostly comes from the North) acceptability in LDCs (which are in the South) is of mixed feelings. In this paper therefore we shall explore some of the problems affecting the MNC/LDC relationship. Thus, among the questions to ponder on are what has been the impact, is it harmful or beneficial, do all MNCs have the same impact and how does each party interpret each impact? These ques~ tions often end up in accusations between MNCs and LDCs in general without devouring each other. But not without a loss of resources especially time and extra costs involved in speculations on each other as well as cushioning of uncertain events that one party suspects of the other.

Public, Constitutional and International Law / LL. M.