External Influence on the Political Economy of Kenya: the Case of MNCS

Abstract

The political economy of Kenya has since the colonial era been subject to a number of external influences. The external forces that have had most impact on the country's economic and political structures include bilateral and multilateral donor agencies and states, as well as foreign investors. The major international non-state donor agencies that have influen~d the Kenyan political economy include the International Monetary Fun) (IMF) and the World Bank (Bank). The influence of these two1nstitution~ has been particularly immense since the'mid 1970sto the present, following a series of global economic crises, that have negatively affected the economies of many African countries -. But even before the onset of the current economic crisis, the Bank and the Fund still wielded a lot of influence on African governments including Kenya, as Bank's "experts" often serve as economic policy advisors to African governments and the Bank's reports often serve as guidelines for national development plans and programs