EuroEconomica, Vol 35, No 2 (2016)

Abstract

The paper discusses the role that government policies and macroeconomic reforms played in influencing economic growth in Zambia during the period 1964-2013. The study identifies two economic systems that guided the implementation of policies and reforms in Zambia. The first relates to a command-driven economy, where economic growth patterns were influenced by nationalist ideologies and administrative controls. The second relates to a market-driven economy where economic growth patterns were influenced by market-oriented fundamentals with some degree of administrative controls. The study concludes that economic policies and reforms were instrumental in influencing the performance of major macroeconomic drivers of economic growth in Zambia such as the accumulation of physical capital, human capital development, international trade, real exchange rate determination and inflation.