Does The Composition of Public Expenditure matter to Economic Growth for Kenya?

Abstract

There is often controversy and debate on the most appropriate way of allocating public funds in Kenya, necessitating the need to investigate the effect of the composition of public expenditure on economic growth. This study investigated the impact of public spending on education, health, economic affairs, defense, agriculture, transport and communication on economic growth with data spanning from 1972 to 2008. The data was differenced to make it stationary then linearized for estimation using ordinary least squares. The findings showed that expenditure on education was a highly significant determinant of economic growth while expenditure on economic affairs, transport and communication were also significant albeit weakly. In contrast, expenditure on agriculture was found to have a significant though negative impact on economic growth. Outlays on health and defence were all found to be insignificant determinants of economic growth. The findings did not conform to apriori expectations.

Keywords: Economic Growth, Public Expenditure,