Agricultural pricing policy in Eastern Africa: a macroeconomic simulation for Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia, Part 76

This case study explores the complexity of developing policy options for agricultural pricing. It also compares the relative success that four countries in eastern Africa have had in ironing out incompatible elements in policy proposals. The study guides the reader through a policymaking simulation. Agricultural pricing policy may arise from a number of objectives, such as efficient economic development, an equitable distribution of income, or nutritional well-being. Such objectives can be pursued by various means, some of which may conflict with other objectives or other parts of the same plan. This volume demonstrates how small- group decisionmaking can help in analyzing proposals before implementation in order to avoid working at cross-purposes. These materials provide the historical and theoretical context for examination of policies in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia. Major decisions made by the countries between 1965 and 1985 are examined and compared. These countries lend themselves particularly well to this type of analysis because of the similarity of their economic and institutional structures and their different experiences with agricultural development.