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In search of economic development in Kenya: Colonial legacies & post-independence realities

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  • Miatta Fahnbulleh

Abstract

The post-colonial period in Africa saw nationalist aspirations for development entangled with the quest for industrialisation. However, the national experiences of industrial and economic development in this era have been marked by varying degrees of disappointment. Kenya, like much of Africa, has failed to engender the levels of industrial growth and subsequent levels of development to which it aspired. Much of the explanations for Africa's disappointing record of industrial development have focused on two central factors: the structural constraints on industrial development and the policies that were pursued. In many ways, these factors are inherently linked to a colonial legacy. Africa's disappointing record of industrial and economic development cannot be divorced from its historical context. It is thus necessary to consider the extent to which the structures that were in place at the end of colonialism predetermined the pattern of development that would emerge in the post-independence era. When evaluating the post-independence experience of industrial development, two specific colonial legacies stand out as decisive: ‘colonial under-development’ and the ‘policy inheritance’. This article argues that although these legacies were profound, it was ultimately the dynamics of post-independence realities that determined the path of development.

Suggested Citation

  • Miatta Fahnbulleh, 2006. "In search of economic development in Kenya: Colonial legacies & post-independence realities," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(107), pages 33-47, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:revape:v:33:y:2006:i:107:p:33-47
    DOI: 10.1080/03056240600671258
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    Cited by:

    1. Emily Cook‐Lundgren, 2023. "Theorizing the persistence of local–foreign inequality in international development organizations through the analytic of coloniality," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 529-546, March.
    2. Fredrick Ajwang & Saurabh Arora & Joanes Atela & Joel Onyango & Mohammad Kyari, 2023. "Enabling modernisation, marginalising alternatives? Kenya's agricultural policy and smallholders," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(1), pages 3-20, January.
    3. Bethuel Kinyanjui Kinuthia, 2017. "Export Spillovers: Comparative Evidence From Kenya and Malaysia," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 26(1), pages 24-51.

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