ABSTRACT

In recent years developing countries have come under increasing international pressure to liberalise their trade regimes. In particular many aid and adjustment programmes recommend that import controls are relaxed. This advice is normally based on theoretical considerations of `optimal' specialisation and insertion in international trade or on empirical studies demonstrating the counter productive effects of policies aimed at protecting domestic industry or promoting import substitution. Foreign Trade Reforms and Development Strategy argues that trade liberalisation is in fact inappropriate for many developing countries. The theoretical framework on which it is predicted takes no account of the instability of the international environment, regressive international specialisations or domestic and international financial problems. Nor is the empirical evidence for liberalisation all that robust. In other words, we know very little about the consequences of one of the major reforms advocated by Structural Adjustment Programmes. In many cases, long-term strategic considerations are being jettisoned because of short term constraints.

chapter |17 pages

Introduction

chapter 10|17 pages

Import liberalization in Kenya