An Explanatory Analysis of Components Constituting Economic Policy Success in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Economic policy is generally directed to achieve particular objectives which include targets for inflation, desirable unemployment levels, economic growth pace, standard of living of citizens among others. An economic policy is a course of action that is intended to influence or control the behaviour of the economy. The public’s expectations of future happenings in the economy are crucial in policy formulation. The likely responsiveness of the public and business whenever a policy is announced determine policy success. Credibility of policy makers is worthy and needs to be monitored and improved regularly, as it determines the implementation of a policy and hence its success. The study is an explanatory analysis of various issues that constitute the success of economic policies with special reference to Zimbabwe. Since independence in 1980, Zimbabwean government has come up with various economic policies, but none has been praised for reaping all the expected results, leading to the crafting of new policies to address the weakness of the former. The study recommends high levels of commitment, public policy support, credibility of policy makers, continuous policy reviews, improved political and institutional frameworks, policy timing, stakeholder engagement, adequate policy budget, elimination of corruption among policy makers and minimisation of policy lags, so as to ensure policy success to transform the economy.

Keywords: Economic Policy, Policy Support, Government Credibility, Policy Success, Goals, Objectives, Tools

JEL Classification: E60, E61, E65, F15, F43, F51, F59, H11, H12, H77, I38, L51, L52, L53, L78