ABSTRACT The Kenyan government has been implementing policies to expand financial access including promoting mobile enabled financial services to those excluded by formal banking sector. Despite the efforts, 65 percent of Kenyans have no access to a bank account due to limited bank branches in rural areas and information asymmetry about the sector. To facilitate financial inclusion and reach out to rural areas historically marginalized by convectional banking, mobile network operators have ma...
ABSTRACT A constant current account imbalance in many developing nations has energized impressive enthusiasm among economists and policy makers trying to have a reasonable comprehension of the significance of current account balance. Kenya has experienced persistent current account imbalance that has remained underneath the threshold that economists would consider sustainable. At the point when a nation runs steady current account imbalance for a long period, it raises worries about its sust...
ABSTRACT The importance of a firm’s productivity cannot be overemphasised as it not only results in the growth of firms but also contributes to the overall growth of an economy. More than half of the variation in economic growth across different countries is said to be explained by differences in total factor productivity arising from the firm level. One major challenge facing developing economies, including Kenya is extremely low productivity level at the firm. Studies have pointed to inno...
ABSTRACT Child marriage is a familiar phenomenon in many countries in Africa and Asia. It is a harmful traditional vice, a human rights violation which not only denies young girls a choice on whom to marry, but also exposes them to psychological, social, health and economic risks. Globally, girls from impoverished households are more likely victims of child marriages. Further combined with traditional practices and beliefs, poverty gives education preference to boys in situations of economic ...
ABSTRACT The banking sector in Kenya is characterized by intermediation inefficiency in the form of interest driven exceptional bank profitability.Competition among commercial banks should remedy this situation by driving bank profitability to the competitive norm. This study examined how competition is correcting this inefficiency byinvestigating competition and profitability of commercial banks in Kenya.Specifically, the study ascertained the level of competition among commercial banks; det...
ABSTRACT Despite the aggressive marketing of local films and the creation of policies aimed at boosting their consumption in Kenya, consumption is still low. Attempts to critically analyze this problem have focused on the qualitative content in films with little investigation of consumers’ tastes and preferences. The aim of this study was to identify and analyze factors that affect demand for locally produced films in Nairobi County, Kenya. Film being a hedonic and experience good, the stud...
Determination and compensation of wages are concepts whose determinants may not necessarily be the same. Different sectors have a stipulated system of pay whereby workers are paid depending on their ranks or job grades, while others use individual characteristics such as education level, sex and work experience. In Kenya, minimum wage determination and fixing form an integral approach of wage setting in the domestic services sector aimed at protecting the domestic workers from exploitati...
ABSTRACT Crude oil is one of the main drivers of economic growth and a key ingredient to sustainable development. It is therefore vital that crude oil products be efficiently and competitively priced in order to accelerate economic growth. Realization of a 10 percent economic growth in Kenya by the year 2030 requires a massive development in the energy sector. Kenya suffers from a shortage of internal energy resources, including oil and as a result, Kenya continues to be in the category of n...
ABSTRACT Maize is a staple food and its adequacy is a measure of food security in Busia County and across Kenya. Despite myriad efforts to increase its yield, the national level has remained low at 1.6 tons/ha relative to world average of 5.5 tons/ha and Busia County experiences much lower yield of 1.2 tons/ha. This low yield in the county coupled by high population growth rate arising from a fertility rate of 6 percent in the county when national level is 4.6 percent and a large population ...
ABSTRACT The prudential regulation's main objective is to mitigate financial instability's threat and macroeconomic costs. In the last decade (2007 to 2018), the banking sector in Kenya has expanded rapidly, making some banks operate within thin capital margins, while others have begun regional operations exposing themselves to cross-border country risks. The country needs to be cautious about risks to the financial system and spillovers of these risks to the economy. The aim of this research...
Access to better health care services is a primary need to every individual in the world and rightfully Kenya. A healthy nation plays a significant position in strengthening growth and development. However, presence of horizontal inequity in utilization of healthcare services hinders these. The project’s main purpose was to estimate the magnitude of horizontal inequity in Kenya and subsequently estimate the variables that affected utilization of health services and give appropriate rec...
ABSTRACT The Kenya government has instituted fiscal decentralization over the years to promote social economic development, reduce poverty and income inequality and ensure balanced regional development. These include: local government system that was inherited from colonial rule and remained relevant until 2013 when it was replaced by county government; District Focus for Rural Development 1983; devolved funds such as Local Authority Transfer Fund 1999; and Constituency Development Fund...
ABSTRACT The exchange rate is an important variable in international trade due to the expectations that trade reacts to its movements and therefore determines a country’s international competitiveness. Prudent management of trade and exchange rate policies have been associated with faster growth in developing countries. In order to orient the economy outwards, Kenya has pursued various measures from 1990s to 2000s. Despite these export oriented efforts, Kenya’s trade has remained skewed ...
ABSTRACT External financing is necessary for many low-income countries to achieve their development objective. External borrowing compliments savings and permits an economy to carry out investment activities. It is expected to provide financing necessary for investment in infrastructure and productive economic activities thus contributing to economic growth and macroeconomic stability. Kenya has depended to a great extent on external borrowing to finance its budget. Data from National Treasu...
ABSTRACT Government expenditure is a key component for guaranteeing a nation assigns and spend budgetary resources to accomplish a robust economic performance. However, the achievement of macroeconomic objectives, from time immemorial, has been a policy priority of every economy whether developed or developing. However, government expenditure still remains an important issue in global debates. The concern is whether or not government expenditure increases the output of different sectors in t...