ABSTRACT
In the case studies of the last chapter we have tried to illuminate some of British aid’s micro effects. We approach a tracing of the effects of aid in this chapter as follows: first we shall discuss the implications of fungibility and project-tying; then we look at the macro-level effects of aid on the Kenyan political economy. It will be difficult to single out the peculiar effects of British aid in this, except where particular British aid flows have characteristics which enable them to be distinguished. As official aid is given between governments, the recipient government is the interface between the donors and Kenyan society. In assessing the influence of aid, therefore, we focus on the Kenya government and move from the particular to the general. We shall assess aid’s impact firstly on public finance in a narrow sense, then on other government policies, then on the style and pattern of government administration. Then we shall have to say something about aid’s putative effects on the political nature of the Kenya government. In these discussions we shall distinguish capital aid and technical assistance on an ad hoc basis, where the distinction is relevant. Finally we shall give our conclusions based on this and the previous chapter about the influence of aid on income levels and income equality in Kenya.
