The role of economic reform towards establishing Rwanda as a developmental state post 1994

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of the study is to establish if economic reform viz-a-vis institutional reform had a role to play in establishing Rwanda as a developmental state post 1994. As part of the study, comparisons are made with Singapore, an established developmental state which Rwanda explicitly modelled itself on. Current trends around the developmental state approach are discussed and the appropriateness of the developmental state model as a means to achieving economic growth analysed. The research methodology used was qualitative in nature, and purposive sampling was used to select Rwanda as the case country for observation. A benchmarking criteria based on the World Economic Forum Global Competitive Index is used for ease of comparison. Rwanda’s progress is tracked against its own policy document, Vision 2020, and its rankings on the World Economic Forum Global Competitive Index reports. The data analysis confirms that Rwanda has indeed implemented institutional reform as supported by the country’s high ranking in indices contributing to institutional capacity, and that institutional reform has played a significant role in constructing some version of a developmental state in Rwanda. However, the country has not successfully transitioned from being a factor driven economy to an efficiency driven economy. Therefore Rwanda whilst making progress towards being a developmental state is at a stage where the findings of the data and literature do not allow this study to classify Rwanda as a developmental state.