This study investigates the level of competition among commercial banks in Kenya over the period ... more This study investigates the level of competition among commercial banks in Kenya over the period 2001 to 2014. The study used a balanced panel data set from 36 commercial banks, the performance dynamics approach and the generalized method of moments to estimate the resulting dynamic panel models. The investigation established that the level of competition among commercial banks in Kenya is low and characterized by 93.9 per percent persistence in profitability. Arising from the study findings, it is important that the government intervenes to rectify the intermediation inefficiency occasioned by ineffectiveness of competition. It is also important that small sized banks in the sector voluntarily merge with other smaller banks in order to exert substantial competition to the large and medium sized banks.
This paper explores the employment challenge in Kenya. It focused on the past employment creation... more This paper explores the employment challenge in Kenya. It focused on the past employment creation interventions adopted by the country over time, their outcomes and the status of the country's employment policy. Kenya's employment challenge is manifested in terms of a 12.7 per cent open unemployment rate, 21 per cent underemployment and a working poor estimated at 46 per cent of the employed. The employment challenge is heightened by rapid population growth at 3 per cent per annum, a youth bulge of 67 per cent of the adult population, low and un-sustained economic growth, and structural rigidities. The paper establishes that much of the employment creation measures adopted by the government have recognized the role of economic growth in employment. This is despite the low employment yield of the country's economic growth attributed to sluggish economic growth. To reverse the trend in slow employment growth, Kenya must focus on ensuring high and sustained economic growth. In addition, employment needs to be put at the centre of the country's macroeconomic policies. Since a large proportion of the Kenyan labour force, even under the best scenario, will remain in the informal sector, the living standards of Kenyans will only brighten if the productivity and employment conditions of informal employment improve. It is envisaged that improving the productivity of the informal sector with a well balanced mix of economic and social policies will make a remarkable contribution to improve the labour and living conditions of a large number of Kenyans.
The East African Community partner states aim to establish a Monetary Union by 2023. As advanced ... more The East African Community partner states aim to establish a Monetary Union by 2023. As advanced by the optimum currency area theory, countries seeking to enter into a monetary union should be as similar as possible to reduce their susceptibility to adverse economic shocks. The East African Monetary Union Protocol signed in 2013 stresses the need for convergence of macroeconomic variables as important preconditions before forming the monetary union. The benchmark macroeconomic indicators include a headline inflation rate of eight per cent, a fiscal deficit of three per cent of the country's gross domestic product on net present value terms, a debt to gross domestic product ratio of 50 per cent and maintenance of a 4.5 months' reserves of import cover. Article 82 (1) of the East African Community Treaty also compels partner states to work towards harmonizing their macro-economic policies especially those related to interest and exchange rates, fiscal and monetary policies. Ho...
Modern Perspectives in Economics, Business and Management Vol. 1, 2021
In trade union studies, it has become clear that trade unions are not exclusively at the mercy of... more In trade union studies, it has become clear that trade unions are not exclusively at the mercy of big societal trends, but that they always have the option of adopting strategic decisions to revive and improve their members' socioeconomic well-being. The key question is, which power resources and means of exerting such power are available to trade unions in the different context they face to reposition and revitalize themselves? The power resources technique is used in this study to determine the power resources that the Kenya National Private Security Workers Union acquired, developed, and used to revitalise. The revitalization process began in 2011, and since then, the union has gone from being characterised by leadership squabbles, coups, demarcation conflicts, and low membership density to one with a relatively high membership, stronger cohesion and solidarity, and unity among the leadership and rank and file members. The revitalization of the Kenya National Private Security Workers Union, according to the analysis, reinforced the conclusion that associational power is best sustained through institutional power. The revitalization process also served a dual purpose, allowing the union to gain public sympathy and relevance while also providing it the internal articulation capabilities to bring together national officials, shop stewards, and rank-and-file members. Between 2011 and 2017, the union's density increased nearly tenfold as a result of these changes. It also helped the union grow into a powerful, unified, and energetic organisation capable of turning challenges into opportunities.
The importance of health workers to the effective functioning of healthcare systems is widely rec... more The importance of health workers to the effective functioning of healthcare systems is widely recognized (Ndetei et al, 2007). Shortages of health workers constitute a significant barrier to achieving health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and expanding health interventions in developing countries. In Kenya, internal migration of workers, from rural/poor areas to urban/rich areas, is just as serious a problem as international migration. Shortages in the health workforce are aggravated by the unequal distribution of health workers as a result of economical, social, professional and security factors that all sustain a steady internal migration of health personnel from rural to urban areas, from the public to the private sector, and out of the health profession itself. The crisis calls for investment in incentives to recruit and retain personnel in poorer, rural areas to service communities that need them most. This study was undertaken within the Regional Network for Equit...
Creation of productive and sustainable employment opportunities remains a key policy priority of ... more Creation of productive and sustainable employment opportunities remains a key policy priority of most countries including Kenya. Employment creation in Kenya has been based on the premise that high economic growth should translate to more employment opportunities. Kenya has experienced varying rates of economic growth.In spite of the increase in growth rates, Kenya’s employment elasticity declined from 1.28 in 1992-1996 to 0.5 and 0.38 in 2004-2008 and 2009-2016 respectively. Since political independence in 1963, the Kenyan government has implemented various fiscal policies that focus on employment creation. Despite all these interventions, creation of adequate, productive and sustainable employment opportunities continues to be one of the greatest economic challenges in the country. The purpose of the study was therefore to determine employment elasticities in priority sectors in Kenya. The study found that employment elasticities within priority sectors ranged from 0.115 to 0.412....
The skills and capacities that reside in people that are put to productive use can be a more impo... more The skills and capacities that reside in people that are put to productive use can be a more important determinant of the nation’s long term economic success and that of an organization. In Kenya, the contribution of the financial sector to Gross Domestic Product has remained unstable and showing slow growth. The sector also recorded a slow growth of 6.5 per cent in 2012 compared to 7.8 per cent in 2011. Investment and Mortgages Bank strive to achieve the best globally through effective utilization of human capital management drivers to attain sustainable competitive edge in the highly and globally competitive banking industry. The Bank’s outstanding operational efficiency maintained at 34.8 per cent, making it one of the best in the Kenyan Banking Industry. The Bank’s success relies heavily on human capital management drivers such as leadership practices, employee engagement, knowledge accessibility, learning capacity and workforce optimization. The main objective of the study was ...
What are the regional disparities in employment and human development in Kenya? This is obviously... more What are the regional disparities in employment and human development in Kenya? This is obviously some of the questions that linger in the minds of many Kenyans as they prepare to mark the second anniversary of the promulgation of the new Constitution in August 2012. This chapter attempts to explore the regional disparities in employment, earnings and human development in Kenya. It contextualizes the study within the framework of unbalanced regional development that Kenya has grappled with since attaining political independence in 1963. It then discusses the various indicators of regional imbalances in employment, earnings and human development. It concludes that Kenya still manifests considerable regional disparities in employment, earnings and human development. It is expected that effective implement of the Constitution, inclusive of the devolved system of government will help address these imbalances. CONTEXT Since attaining political independence in 1963, the Kenya government h...
Despite impressive performance and contribution to national economy, the flower industry in Kenya... more Despite impressive performance and contribution to national economy, the flower industry in Kenya is still faced with decent work deficits. These could be manifested in the terms and conditions of employment leading to industrial unrest in organizations within the flower industry. Trade Union membership has been shown to be low, with membership in the main union at just 17% of the total number of workers in flower farms. The effect of weak employee and industrial relations system and practice is manifested in the increase in the spate of industrial strikes and attendant man-days lost. The number of man-days lost due to industrial strikes almost doubled from 14,806 man-days in 2008 to 25,504 man-days in 2010. This, however, increased tremendously by about sevenfold to 175,329 in 2011. Other effects are seen in declining labour productivity in all sectors of the country’s economy, increasing unit labour cost and low levels of competitiveness. Kenya’s labour productivity growth has, fo...
One of the most important social-goal world-over is the achievement of good health. This is becau... more One of the most important social-goal world-over is the achievement of good health. This is because, apart from been a fundamental right, it is also an invaluable asset and a prerequisite for improved productivity. However, the benefits associated with good health status may not be enjoyed in the presence of high poverty rates. Thus, poverty reduction is important in ensuring enjoyment of good health. In Kenya, despite the government’s effort to reduce poverty and improve health status of her citizens, poverty has remained high and health indicators have not been impressive either. This paper, therefore, sought to establish the effect of poverty on health status in Kenya. The study used Ordered Probit and the 2013 Kenya Household Expenditure and Utilization Survey dataset to achieve its objective. Estimation results indicate poverty reduction increased the probability of reporting own health as being very good and reduced that of reporting poor health, ceteris paribus. Increase in h...
Kenya has in the past had cases of industrial strikes covering virtually all sectors of the count... more Kenya has in the past had cases of industrial strikes covering virtually all sectors of the country’s economy. In the year 2011, for example, a total of 21 industrial strikes were reported involving 13,499 employees with up to 175,329 man-days lost. The scenario was not any different in 2012. The nationwide strikes by teachers and health workers in 2013 brought paralysis in the social sectors of education and health, while the March 2014 strikes by teaching and non-teaching staff of the public universities undoubtedly aggravated wastage to the nation’s valuable human capital. Industrial strikes have negative effects on organizational productivity, enterprise competiveness, economic growth and overall achievement of the aspirations of the Kenya Vision 2030. The system and practice of industrial relations in a country has an important bearing on the state of industrial harmony. The system of industrial relations affects four elements in innovation: motive, content, process and outcome...
enia tiene una enorme y creciente industria de la seguridad privada, caracterizada por la informa... more enia tiene una enorme y creciente industria de la seguridad privada, caracterizada por la informalidad, la subcontratacion, la tercerizacion y la segmentacion de mercado. Sin embargo, el Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Seguridad Privada de Kenia, a partir de 2011, mediante el masivo incremento de la afiliacion, una mayor cohesion y solidaridad internas, la capacidad de articulacion para convocar a funcionarios nacionales, delegados sindicales y miembros de base y el establecimiento de instituciones disenadas para promover el dialogo y la regulacion, esta cambiando ese panorama.
Provision of adequate health care services to their population remains a major challenge for gove... more Provision of adequate health care services to their population remains a major challenge for governments in Africa. In Kenya, the number of trained Pharmacists is increasing with time but still insufficient relative to the population in need (one pharmacist for every 8,710 persons, or approximately 0.1 per 1000 persons. Kenya had about 8 pharmacists for every 100,000 people). It was estimated that for the country to meet its health related Millennium Development Goals, the pharmacy workforce needed to grow by 28 per cent annually between 2010 and 2015. Whereas, Kenya’s population is estimated to be 43 million (provisional) in 2014, the number of registered pharmacist in 2013 was 2,202 and rose to 2,355 with a ratio of 5 pharmacists per 100,000 persons. In summary we have approximately 5:100,000, meaning 5 pharmacists to 100,000 persons, while the requirement is approximately 1:10000, meaning 1 pharmacist to 10000 persons. The current numbers of pharmacists are not adequate for achie...
A consensus has emerged in trade union research that trade unions are not solely at the mercy of ... more A consensus has emerged in trade union research that trade unions are not solely at the mercy of major societal trends, but always have the option of making strategic choice(s) to revitalize and ensure improvement in the socio-economic welfare of their members. The key question is, which power resources and means of exerting such power are available to trade unions in the different context they face to reposition and revitalize themselves? This paper uses the power resources approach to identify the power resources that were acquired, developed and utilized by the Kenya National Private Security Workers Union to revitalize. The revitalization process, which started in 2011 saw the union transform from an outfit characterized by leadership wrangles, coup d’etats, demarcation conflicts and low membership density to one with relatively high membership, stronger cohesion and solidarity, and unity amongst the leadership and the rank and file members. Based on the analysis, the revitaliza...
The role that innovation can play towards the growth and survivalof an enterprise continues to ga... more The role that innovation can play towards the growth and survivalof an enterprise continues to gain credence as better indicators of enterprise innovativeness come to the fore. In spite of this growing body of knowledge, micro and small enterprises in Kenyacontinue to experience high mortality rate. This paper used World BankEnterprise Survey data for Kenya to probe whether innovative micro and small enterprisesare indeed associated with better growth performance. The study used a qualitative analysis using a descriptive analysis and t-test for mean differences to compare innovative and non-innovative micro and small enterprises. The results show that there was no statistically significant relationship between a micro and small enterprise’s growth performance and its innovativeness. Innovative micro and small enterprises were, however, found to have invested relatively higher resources towards innovation inputs and hiring of advanced human skills. They also participated in export tr...
Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 2019
The relationship between output growth and employment elasticities has been of intense debate amo... more The relationship between output growth and employment elasticities has been of intense debate among many economists. Though there is no conflict between the two objectives, the question that arises is the rate at which employment growth responds to economic growth. The policy focus on employment in Kenya is manifested by the sheer number of employment targeted development plans and Sessional papers that have been formulated. Basically, all the policy documents developed by the government have premised employment creation on economic growth. The purpose of the study was therefore to determine the drivers of employment elasticities in Kenya. Empirical findings indicated that the first lag of employment elasticity, average wage, inflation rate, labour force participation rate, first and second lags of labour force participation rate, population density, first and second lags of foreign direct investment to be the short run drivers of employment elasticity. Empirical findings also indicated that exchange rate, foreign direct investment and population density were the long run drivers of employment elasticity in Kenya. The study recommends that policy measures to control inflation should be tightened and more efforts to attract foreign direct investment to be undertaken. The study further recommends that a stable exchange rate should be maintained. Lastly, the government should harmonize the salary scale framework to regulate the wages in the country. This could be realized through salary adjustments based on a periodical and systematic evaluation of wage parameters in the public sector and taking cognizance of the prevailing economic dynamics.
This study investigates the level of competition among commercial banks in Kenya over the period ... more This study investigates the level of competition among commercial banks in Kenya over the period 2001 to 2014. The study used a balanced panel data set from 36 commercial banks, the performance dynamics approach and the generalized method of moments to estimate the resulting dynamic panel models. The investigation established that the level of competition among commercial banks in Kenya is low and characterized by 93.9 per percent persistence in profitability. Arising from the study findings, it is important that the government intervenes to rectify the intermediation inefficiency occasioned by ineffectiveness of competition. It is also important that small sized banks in the sector voluntarily merge with other smaller banks in order to exert substantial competition to the large and medium sized banks.
This paper explores the employment challenge in Kenya. It focused on the past employment creation... more This paper explores the employment challenge in Kenya. It focused on the past employment creation interventions adopted by the country over time, their outcomes and the status of the country's employment policy. Kenya's employment challenge is manifested in terms of a 12.7 per cent open unemployment rate, 21 per cent underemployment and a working poor estimated at 46 per cent of the employed. The employment challenge is heightened by rapid population growth at 3 per cent per annum, a youth bulge of 67 per cent of the adult population, low and un-sustained economic growth, and structural rigidities. The paper establishes that much of the employment creation measures adopted by the government have recognized the role of economic growth in employment. This is despite the low employment yield of the country's economic growth attributed to sluggish economic growth. To reverse the trend in slow employment growth, Kenya must focus on ensuring high and sustained economic growth. In addition, employment needs to be put at the centre of the country's macroeconomic policies. Since a large proportion of the Kenyan labour force, even under the best scenario, will remain in the informal sector, the living standards of Kenyans will only brighten if the productivity and employment conditions of informal employment improve. It is envisaged that improving the productivity of the informal sector with a well balanced mix of economic and social policies will make a remarkable contribution to improve the labour and living conditions of a large number of Kenyans.
The East African Community partner states aim to establish a Monetary Union by 2023. As advanced ... more The East African Community partner states aim to establish a Monetary Union by 2023. As advanced by the optimum currency area theory, countries seeking to enter into a monetary union should be as similar as possible to reduce their susceptibility to adverse economic shocks. The East African Monetary Union Protocol signed in 2013 stresses the need for convergence of macroeconomic variables as important preconditions before forming the monetary union. The benchmark macroeconomic indicators include a headline inflation rate of eight per cent, a fiscal deficit of three per cent of the country's gross domestic product on net present value terms, a debt to gross domestic product ratio of 50 per cent and maintenance of a 4.5 months' reserves of import cover. Article 82 (1) of the East African Community Treaty also compels partner states to work towards harmonizing their macro-economic policies especially those related to interest and exchange rates, fiscal and monetary policies. Ho...
Modern Perspectives in Economics, Business and Management Vol. 1, 2021
In trade union studies, it has become clear that trade unions are not exclusively at the mercy of... more In trade union studies, it has become clear that trade unions are not exclusively at the mercy of big societal trends, but that they always have the option of adopting strategic decisions to revive and improve their members' socioeconomic well-being. The key question is, which power resources and means of exerting such power are available to trade unions in the different context they face to reposition and revitalize themselves? The power resources technique is used in this study to determine the power resources that the Kenya National Private Security Workers Union acquired, developed, and used to revitalise. The revitalization process began in 2011, and since then, the union has gone from being characterised by leadership squabbles, coups, demarcation conflicts, and low membership density to one with a relatively high membership, stronger cohesion and solidarity, and unity among the leadership and rank and file members. The revitalization of the Kenya National Private Security Workers Union, according to the analysis, reinforced the conclusion that associational power is best sustained through institutional power. The revitalization process also served a dual purpose, allowing the union to gain public sympathy and relevance while also providing it the internal articulation capabilities to bring together national officials, shop stewards, and rank-and-file members. Between 2011 and 2017, the union's density increased nearly tenfold as a result of these changes. It also helped the union grow into a powerful, unified, and energetic organisation capable of turning challenges into opportunities.
The importance of health workers to the effective functioning of healthcare systems is widely rec... more The importance of health workers to the effective functioning of healthcare systems is widely recognized (Ndetei et al, 2007). Shortages of health workers constitute a significant barrier to achieving health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and expanding health interventions in developing countries. In Kenya, internal migration of workers, from rural/poor areas to urban/rich areas, is just as serious a problem as international migration. Shortages in the health workforce are aggravated by the unequal distribution of health workers as a result of economical, social, professional and security factors that all sustain a steady internal migration of health personnel from rural to urban areas, from the public to the private sector, and out of the health profession itself. The crisis calls for investment in incentives to recruit and retain personnel in poorer, rural areas to service communities that need them most. This study was undertaken within the Regional Network for Equit...
Creation of productive and sustainable employment opportunities remains a key policy priority of ... more Creation of productive and sustainable employment opportunities remains a key policy priority of most countries including Kenya. Employment creation in Kenya has been based on the premise that high economic growth should translate to more employment opportunities. Kenya has experienced varying rates of economic growth.In spite of the increase in growth rates, Kenya’s employment elasticity declined from 1.28 in 1992-1996 to 0.5 and 0.38 in 2004-2008 and 2009-2016 respectively. Since political independence in 1963, the Kenyan government has implemented various fiscal policies that focus on employment creation. Despite all these interventions, creation of adequate, productive and sustainable employment opportunities continues to be one of the greatest economic challenges in the country. The purpose of the study was therefore to determine employment elasticities in priority sectors in Kenya. The study found that employment elasticities within priority sectors ranged from 0.115 to 0.412....
The skills and capacities that reside in people that are put to productive use can be a more impo... more The skills and capacities that reside in people that are put to productive use can be a more important determinant of the nation’s long term economic success and that of an organization. In Kenya, the contribution of the financial sector to Gross Domestic Product has remained unstable and showing slow growth. The sector also recorded a slow growth of 6.5 per cent in 2012 compared to 7.8 per cent in 2011. Investment and Mortgages Bank strive to achieve the best globally through effective utilization of human capital management drivers to attain sustainable competitive edge in the highly and globally competitive banking industry. The Bank’s outstanding operational efficiency maintained at 34.8 per cent, making it one of the best in the Kenyan Banking Industry. The Bank’s success relies heavily on human capital management drivers such as leadership practices, employee engagement, knowledge accessibility, learning capacity and workforce optimization. The main objective of the study was ...
What are the regional disparities in employment and human development in Kenya? This is obviously... more What are the regional disparities in employment and human development in Kenya? This is obviously some of the questions that linger in the minds of many Kenyans as they prepare to mark the second anniversary of the promulgation of the new Constitution in August 2012. This chapter attempts to explore the regional disparities in employment, earnings and human development in Kenya. It contextualizes the study within the framework of unbalanced regional development that Kenya has grappled with since attaining political independence in 1963. It then discusses the various indicators of regional imbalances in employment, earnings and human development. It concludes that Kenya still manifests considerable regional disparities in employment, earnings and human development. It is expected that effective implement of the Constitution, inclusive of the devolved system of government will help address these imbalances. CONTEXT Since attaining political independence in 1963, the Kenya government h...
Despite impressive performance and contribution to national economy, the flower industry in Kenya... more Despite impressive performance and contribution to national economy, the flower industry in Kenya is still faced with decent work deficits. These could be manifested in the terms and conditions of employment leading to industrial unrest in organizations within the flower industry. Trade Union membership has been shown to be low, with membership in the main union at just 17% of the total number of workers in flower farms. The effect of weak employee and industrial relations system and practice is manifested in the increase in the spate of industrial strikes and attendant man-days lost. The number of man-days lost due to industrial strikes almost doubled from 14,806 man-days in 2008 to 25,504 man-days in 2010. This, however, increased tremendously by about sevenfold to 175,329 in 2011. Other effects are seen in declining labour productivity in all sectors of the country’s economy, increasing unit labour cost and low levels of competitiveness. Kenya’s labour productivity growth has, fo...
One of the most important social-goal world-over is the achievement of good health. This is becau... more One of the most important social-goal world-over is the achievement of good health. This is because, apart from been a fundamental right, it is also an invaluable asset and a prerequisite for improved productivity. However, the benefits associated with good health status may not be enjoyed in the presence of high poverty rates. Thus, poverty reduction is important in ensuring enjoyment of good health. In Kenya, despite the government’s effort to reduce poverty and improve health status of her citizens, poverty has remained high and health indicators have not been impressive either. This paper, therefore, sought to establish the effect of poverty on health status in Kenya. The study used Ordered Probit and the 2013 Kenya Household Expenditure and Utilization Survey dataset to achieve its objective. Estimation results indicate poverty reduction increased the probability of reporting own health as being very good and reduced that of reporting poor health, ceteris paribus. Increase in h...
Kenya has in the past had cases of industrial strikes covering virtually all sectors of the count... more Kenya has in the past had cases of industrial strikes covering virtually all sectors of the country’s economy. In the year 2011, for example, a total of 21 industrial strikes were reported involving 13,499 employees with up to 175,329 man-days lost. The scenario was not any different in 2012. The nationwide strikes by teachers and health workers in 2013 brought paralysis in the social sectors of education and health, while the March 2014 strikes by teaching and non-teaching staff of the public universities undoubtedly aggravated wastage to the nation’s valuable human capital. Industrial strikes have negative effects on organizational productivity, enterprise competiveness, economic growth and overall achievement of the aspirations of the Kenya Vision 2030. The system and practice of industrial relations in a country has an important bearing on the state of industrial harmony. The system of industrial relations affects four elements in innovation: motive, content, process and outcome...
enia tiene una enorme y creciente industria de la seguridad privada, caracterizada por la informa... more enia tiene una enorme y creciente industria de la seguridad privada, caracterizada por la informalidad, la subcontratacion, la tercerizacion y la segmentacion de mercado. Sin embargo, el Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Seguridad Privada de Kenia, a partir de 2011, mediante el masivo incremento de la afiliacion, una mayor cohesion y solidaridad internas, la capacidad de articulacion para convocar a funcionarios nacionales, delegados sindicales y miembros de base y el establecimiento de instituciones disenadas para promover el dialogo y la regulacion, esta cambiando ese panorama.
Provision of adequate health care services to their population remains a major challenge for gove... more Provision of adequate health care services to their population remains a major challenge for governments in Africa. In Kenya, the number of trained Pharmacists is increasing with time but still insufficient relative to the population in need (one pharmacist for every 8,710 persons, or approximately 0.1 per 1000 persons. Kenya had about 8 pharmacists for every 100,000 people). It was estimated that for the country to meet its health related Millennium Development Goals, the pharmacy workforce needed to grow by 28 per cent annually between 2010 and 2015. Whereas, Kenya’s population is estimated to be 43 million (provisional) in 2014, the number of registered pharmacist in 2013 was 2,202 and rose to 2,355 with a ratio of 5 pharmacists per 100,000 persons. In summary we have approximately 5:100,000, meaning 5 pharmacists to 100,000 persons, while the requirement is approximately 1:10000, meaning 1 pharmacist to 10000 persons. The current numbers of pharmacists are not adequate for achie...
A consensus has emerged in trade union research that trade unions are not solely at the mercy of ... more A consensus has emerged in trade union research that trade unions are not solely at the mercy of major societal trends, but always have the option of making strategic choice(s) to revitalize and ensure improvement in the socio-economic welfare of their members. The key question is, which power resources and means of exerting such power are available to trade unions in the different context they face to reposition and revitalize themselves? This paper uses the power resources approach to identify the power resources that were acquired, developed and utilized by the Kenya National Private Security Workers Union to revitalize. The revitalization process, which started in 2011 saw the union transform from an outfit characterized by leadership wrangles, coup d’etats, demarcation conflicts and low membership density to one with relatively high membership, stronger cohesion and solidarity, and unity amongst the leadership and the rank and file members. Based on the analysis, the revitaliza...
The role that innovation can play towards the growth and survivalof an enterprise continues to ga... more The role that innovation can play towards the growth and survivalof an enterprise continues to gain credence as better indicators of enterprise innovativeness come to the fore. In spite of this growing body of knowledge, micro and small enterprises in Kenyacontinue to experience high mortality rate. This paper used World BankEnterprise Survey data for Kenya to probe whether innovative micro and small enterprisesare indeed associated with better growth performance. The study used a qualitative analysis using a descriptive analysis and t-test for mean differences to compare innovative and non-innovative micro and small enterprises. The results show that there was no statistically significant relationship between a micro and small enterprise’s growth performance and its innovativeness. Innovative micro and small enterprises were, however, found to have invested relatively higher resources towards innovation inputs and hiring of advanced human skills. They also participated in export tr...
Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 2019
The relationship between output growth and employment elasticities has been of intense debate amo... more The relationship between output growth and employment elasticities has been of intense debate among many economists. Though there is no conflict between the two objectives, the question that arises is the rate at which employment growth responds to economic growth. The policy focus on employment in Kenya is manifested by the sheer number of employment targeted development plans and Sessional papers that have been formulated. Basically, all the policy documents developed by the government have premised employment creation on economic growth. The purpose of the study was therefore to determine the drivers of employment elasticities in Kenya. Empirical findings indicated that the first lag of employment elasticity, average wage, inflation rate, labour force participation rate, first and second lags of labour force participation rate, population density, first and second lags of foreign direct investment to be the short run drivers of employment elasticity. Empirical findings also indicated that exchange rate, foreign direct investment and population density were the long run drivers of employment elasticity in Kenya. The study recommends that policy measures to control inflation should be tightened and more efforts to attract foreign direct investment to be undertaken. The study further recommends that a stable exchange rate should be maintained. Lastly, the government should harmonize the salary scale framework to regulate the wages in the country. This could be realized through salary adjustments based on a periodical and systematic evaluation of wage parameters in the public sector and taking cognizance of the prevailing economic dynamics.
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