Presented at the Public Policy Executive Program in Nairobi, Kenya. August, 2015

1. Strathmore Business School
Policy Instruments in Practice
Monday, August 10, 2015

2. Background
The Government has over time used
various regulatory, economic and
administrative instruments to achieve
desirable outcomes in the development
process.
The regulatory instrument has taken the
form of laws and regulations, with guidelines
issued in most cases where law is used;
In the case of Economic instruments
taxation, subsidies and exemptions have
been used to influence developments
towards desired direction;
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3. Objectives
Specific objectives of Government policy
generally include:
 Economic growth, socio-economic
development, and higher quality of life;
 Redress market imperfections to provide
proper environment for growth, by giving the
right signals to the private sector(both
individuals and corporate);
 Promote specific economic goals – investments,
poverty reduction, reduce inequality, etc;
 Address factors that impede development –
social, cultural, etc;
 Reduce impact of externalities – environmental,
trade related, etc
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4. Objectives Contd.
 Facilitate price stability and interest rates;
 Facilitate participation of the private sector, civil
society and citizens in the development process;
and
 Administer and provide desired social and
political direction;
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5. Regulatory and Economic Instruments
 Implementing the Constitution of Kenya 2010,
which is the supreme law of the land;
 Acts of the Parliament;
 Financial Acts, as passed after every Budget;
 Incentives and subsidies prescribed in budget
policy;
 Sessional Papers on specific economic measures
and addressing specific sectors – liberalization,
privatization, export and import regimes,
industrial policy;
 Measures in policy addressing economic and
social transformation;
 Regulations influencing societal behaviour,
including restrictions;
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6. Development Plans As an Example of Policy
Instruments
 Used by Governments to Co-ordinate Economic
decision making over selected timeframe(Medium to
long term) to achieve predetermined development
objectives;
 They influence the level of growth through addressing
the Principal socio-economic variables;
 They are key to facilitation of prioritization and
coherence of desired policy direction – eg
industrialization, social transformation;
 Through consultative and participatory process, they
rally the public to support Governments to achieve
development Agenda; and,
 They are credited for faster Economic growth – East
Asian Miracle, incl China. In Africa Botswana, Ethiopia.Tuesday,August 11, 2015 6

7. Challenges
 Challenges in transition following the promulgation
COK 2010;
 Lack of requisite capacities to implement stated policy
measures;
 Resistance to changes in law or measures(VAT, ETRs,
etc);
 Changes in measures for policy requiring longer
timeframe to implement;
 Difficulties in legal implementation, such lag in
preparing guidelines(PPP law, procurement law, for
example);
 Budgetary constraints, especially to subsidies and
building the infrastructure required to create enabling
environment.
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8. End of Presentation
______________________
Thank you for your Attention
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