Economic Development of Kenya and Singapore Case Study

Economic Development of Kenya and Singapore - Case Study Example Chapter one examines Kenya's shortcomings in its bid for development and economic growth while chapter two analyses what earmarks Singapore's success. It is said that time and chance is the same for all men. It is then left up to man what he does with the opportunities that are presented him and the time allocated him. Even nations have to adhere to this. Fifty years ago, both Kenya and Singapore were newly established sovereign states, both having gained independence from their colonizer - Britain. Both young nations faced the same problems: new economies unrecognized in the world market, poverty and illiteracy, poor infrastructure and the foreign concept of self governance (Findlay, Wellitsz & World Bank, 1993) . The colonial masters who had never had any real interest in improving the state of the native, had left gaping holes in several sectors when they left their colonies, the political, social and economic structures wee weak, having been cut out to suit the needs of the masters, not the natives (Findlay, Wellitsz & World Bank, 1993). These young nations were thus called upon to formulate their own policies, governments and social structures. What is intriguing is that while they were both faced with the same dilemma, with almost equal opportunities, one country built itself up successfully while the other did not. Leading to the question, what made Singapore -which is now, termed an industrializing nation - work, that Kenya -still labeled as a developing country- did not do The statistics that are available for the measures in development are the clearest indication of just how far apart these two nations are in terms of economic growth. According to the data provided by the World Bank, in 2007, Singapore had a GDP of 161.3 billion US$ and a GNI per capita of 32,470 US$ while the GDP for Kenya in the same year was 29.5 billion US$ and the GNI per capita was 680US$. The life expectancy at the time of birth for the two countries was recorded to be 80years and 53years respectively (WB, 2009). It could not be any more apparent that Kenya and Singapore are now on two very different spectrums. Tracing Kenya's economic growth and her development from the time of independence It is interesting to observe that Kenya's economic growth in the first two decades after independence was quick and steady but took a downward destabilized turn after that. This stands out so clearly that as Legovini (2002) points out, her economic history can be classified under two time periods: the first running from 1963 at the time of independence through to the early 1980s, and the second from the early eighties to the present day. The major difference between the two defined time periods is that while the first was one of prosperity, with notable advancements made in both the economic and social sectors, Legovini explains that the second time period was one where the country experienced growing imbalances in the macro economy, a falling life expectancy, increased poverty and the degradation of the social welfare system. Legovini surmises that what brought about these negative trends were a combination of poor policy formation as well as the focus that was put on politics instead of on