Structural adjustment,poverty and economic growth:An analysis for Kenya

This paper analyses the impact of structural adjustment programmes on poverty andeconomic growth in Kenya. The results indicate that there was a decrease in povertybetween 1992 and 1994 as shown by all poverty measures, while results from otherstudies show that poverty increased between 1994 and 1997. There was a remarkableimprovement in macroeconomic policies between 1992 and 1994, while poverty declined,but a slight deterioration in macroeconomic policy between 1994 and 1997, which led toan increase in poverty. The study recommends that the institutional bottlenecks hinderingeconomic reform should be addressed. Poverty alleviation policies should be pursuedhand in hand with reforms so as to ensure equitable distribution of the long-term benefitsof growth that may spring from economic reform, as well as special targeting of the poorwho are found in the non-market sector and are therefore unlikely to benefit much fromeconomic reform policies