School of Business and Economics (JA)

The effect of budget monitoring mechanisms on the implementation of county government projects in Kitui County

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The effect of budget monitoring mechanisms on the implementation of county government projects in Kitui County Kyule, Benedatta K.; Wahome, Michael N.; Karuti, Jephitha K. The successful implementation of county government projects is essential for improving public service delivery and promoting socio-economic development. Despite the legal and institutional frameworks established to strengthen public financial management in Kenya, many county governments continue to experience project delays, cost overruns, and inefficient utilization of public resources. The study investigated the effect of budget monitoring mechanisms on the implementation of county government projects in Kitui County, Kenya. The study was anchored on the Agency Theory and correlational research design. The target population was 115 senior county government officers involved in budgeting and projects implementation. Data were collected from a sample of 89 respondents with the help of structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation and simple linear regression were used to analyze data. The correlation analysis showed a positive and significant relationship between the budget monitoring mechanisms and the project implementation (r=0.503, p < 0.000). Regression analysis further showed that budget monitoring mechanisms significantly influenced project implementation (B = 0.267, p < 0.000), explaining 25.3% of the variation in project implementation (R² = 0.253). The study concluded that effective budget monitoring, timely project completion and adherence to budget. The County Government of Kitui is recommended to strengthen expenditure monitoring, institutionalize regular budget review sessions, and enhance internal audit systems to improve financial accountability and project implementation outcomes. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37284/2707-7810

Telecommunication infrastructure and income inequality in Kenya: The absorptive role of human capital and institutional quality

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Telecommunication infrastructure and income inequality in Kenya: The absorptive role of human capital and institutional quality Mwanza, Lynn M.; Atellu, Antony R.; Mutiiria, Onesmus M. This study investigates the structural relationship between telecommunication infrastructure and income inequality in Kenya over 1995–2024. Theoretically, the study synthesises the Galor-Zeira Credit Friction Theory, where telecommunication access lowers information asymmetries and market search costs and Acemoglu's Skill-Biased Technological Change along with Van Dijk’s Digital Divide Theory, which posit that technological returns are conditionally governed by human capital capabilities. Utilising an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing framework alongside robust non-parametric estimators, we establish a long-run cointegrating equilibrium among telecommunication proxies, human development, institutional quality, and income distribution. The empirical findings reveal that mobile penetration, internet access, and fixed broadband exert a direct, statistically significant inequality-reducing effect. Crucially, introducing interaction terms demonstrates that human capital acts as a vital absorptive threshold: digital infrastructure expansion only exerts its maximum redistributive power when complemented by higher levels of human development. Diagnostic checks, including Cumulative Sum and Cumulative Sum of Square stability tests and the Log Palma Ratio as an alternative inequality proxy, confirm the structural robustness of the model. We conclude that digital infrastructure expansion is an effective, yet non-autonomous, redistributive policy tool. Sustainable inequality reduction requires pairing digital coverage with targeted human capital building and institutional safeguards. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37284/ijfa.5.1.5717

The effect of public debt on economic growth in Kenya

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The effect of public debt on economic growth in Kenya Okoth, Erick; Rotich, Joseph K.; Njoki, Fideris W.; Topisia, Fredrick N.; Bosibori, Teresa O. The impacts of public debt on any economy may be twofold, when employed into productive ventures and in sustainable levels, it improves societal welfare and stimulates economic growth and development. However, when improperly used for instance in meeting recurrent expenditure, and in excess, it results in debilitating effects on the economy. Many scholars and economists have divergent views on the effects of public debt on economic growth. Some believe it negatively affects growth while others hold that it has positive effects on the growth of an economy. This research seeks to investigate the impacts of public debt on Kenya’s economic growth. The study also attempts to establish whether there exists an optimal debt level for the Kenyan economy. This research used secondary data collected from various sources including publications, reports and statistical databases of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Central Bank of Kenya, and Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. The study period included 2002-2020. The data was collected using a data collection sheet that was edited, coded and cleaned. To establish the relationship between public debt and economic growth, the researcher carried out multivariate regression analysis and employ the descriptive research design to describe the relationship between public debt and economic growth. The study established a negative effect of public debt on economic growth. however, the relationship was insignificant for the period under study. The effect of external debt was also negative but not significant on changes in GDP; while its effect on inflation rates was positive but insignificant. Domestic debt had insignificant positive effects on changes in GDP while its effect on inflation was negative but insignificant as well. The insignificant effect of domestic debt could be in part attributed to the underdeveloped capital markets in the Kenyan economy. From the findings of this study, the researcher recommends that public debt should be the last resort to public finance as it depicted negative effects on economic growth and additionally, Kenya should pursue comprehensive debt relief measures. DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS

An empirical analysis of the determinants of digital credit default in Kenya

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

An empirical analysis of the determinants of digital credit default in Kenya Ngonde, Moffat M.; Bowen, Michael; Nzomoi, Joseph N. Kenya has a vibrant Digital Financial Services sector characterized by innovative and technology-driven products. The mobile money revolution has pioneered financial inclusion through services such as M-PESA and recently through digital credit providers such as M-Shwari, Tala and Branch among others. This paper sought to examine the determinants of digital credit default in Kenya. The objectives of the study were: i) to determine how digital illiteracy influences loan default, ii) to analyze the correlation between betting behavior and digital credit distress and iii) to assess the impact of economic shocks on the likelihood of default. The study utilized a quantitative, cross sectional research design using secondary data from the 2024 FinAccess survey in Kenya to examine the relationship between borrower characteristics and the probability of default. From a sampling frame of 20872 borrowers, stratified sampling technique was used to identify 6571 digital borrowers that formed the sample size. A probit model was estimated using maximum likelihood estimation on E-views. Findings indicate a marginal effect for illiteracy, showing that an illiterate borrower is 4.5 per cent more likely to default compared to a digitally literate one. Similarly gambling and sickness yielded 8.4 per cent and 13 per cent respectively on the probability of default. On demographic characteristics, male borrowers were found to be riskier than female, with a coefficient value of -0.037377, implying that being male increases default risk by 3.7 per cent. Income had a negative effect on default, implying that higher income reduces the probability of default. Based on these findings, the study concludes that credit default is largely contributed by a combination of factors including financial literacy, sickness, gambling and income level. The study recommends that credit reference bureau listing mechanism be reviewed to account for verifiable shocks such as illness and that gambling should be considered as one of the eligibility criteria for digital lending since it enhances default rate. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2026.100300303