Governments, regulators and development agencies make choices every week about taxes, subsidies, tariffs, prices and public spending, often under pressure and with incomplete evidence. Decisions taken without sound economic reasoning can waste scarce budgets, create unintended winners and losers or simply fail to change behaviour. Over five days, you build the analytical toolkit economists use to frame policy problems and test competing options. Core topics include market failure, externalities and public goods, supply and demand elasticities, tax incidence and the logic of incentives.
You then apply cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis, including discounting, net present value and sensitivity testing, and learn when regulatory impact assessment is appropriate. Sessions on evidence introduce regression, difference-in-differences and randomised evaluations, with exercises in Excel and optional Stata or R, using open data such as household surveys and World Bank indicators. Economists, policy analysts, planning and budget officers, regulators, researchers and advisers in ministries, central banks, think tanks and NGOs will benefit. Choose classroom, online or in-house delivery; a CPD-accredited certificate is issued at the end. You leave able to produce a clear, evidence-based policy brief.
Public policy in Africa is being made against tight fiscal space, heavy debt service obligations, climate pressures and rising expectations from citizens. In that environment, the ability to say clearly what a policy will cost, who will benefit, who will bear the burden and how confident we can be in the evidence is a core professional skill, not an academic luxury. Many analysts, however, have studied economic theory without ever applying it to a live policy question under a deadline.
The Practical Applied Economics & Policy Analysis Training Course closes that gap. It starts with the economic case for government action and the main sources of market and government failure, then moves to quantitative tools for appraising options: elasticities and incidence, cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis, and distributional analysis. The second half deals with evidence: reading and running simple regressions, understanding the causal inference methods used in impact evaluation, and judging the quality of studies cited in policy debates. The final day concentrates on communicating analysis to decision-makers in briefs, presentations and cabinet-style memos.
Exercises use realistic African policy cases on fuel and fertiliser subsidies, excise taxes, minimum wages and infrastructure investment. Participants work in spreadsheets with real datasets and leave with a completed options appraisal and policy brief.
After the five days, participants should be able to:
The course leaves participants with:
Teaching is applied and quantitative but accessible to non-specialists. Participants learn through:
Day 1: Economic Reasoning for Public Policy
Day 2: Markets, Prices and Who Pays
Day 3: Appraising Options with Cost-Benefit Analysis
Day 4: Evidence and Causal Inference
Day 5: Communicating Policy Analysis
The course is relevant to professionals who advise on or appraise public decisions, including:
Participants earn a CPD-accredited Certificate of Completion issued by Vision Reach Global Consultancy by attending all five days and completing the spreadsheet labs and the final policy brief.
Upcoming cohorts
CPD-Accredited
Official invoice & confirmation letter provided
Team discount for 3+ seats
Need help with this booking?
Our training team can help with group pricing, invoicing, or picking the right schedule.
Everything you need to know about this course before you register.
By the end of the Practical Applied Economics & Policy Analysis programme, you'll be able to diagnose the market and government failures that justify, or argue against, public intervention, estimate and interpret price and income elasticities and the incidence of taxes and subsidies, conduct a cost-benefit analysis with discounting, net present value and sensitivity testing, and compare policy options using cost-effectiveness and multi-criteria analysis. The full breakdown of topics is covered session by session in the Course Outline tab above.
The course is relevant to professionals who advise on or appraise public decisions, including: Economists and policy analysts in ministries of finance, planning and trade, Economic planning and budget officers in national and sub-national government, Researchers in central banks, think tanks and universities, Regulatory and competition authority staff, Policy and advocacy officers in NGOs and development agencies, Advisers to parliamentary budget and finance committees, and Consultants preparing feasibility studies and policy appraisals.
Practical Applied Economics & Policy Analysis Training Course typically runs as 5 Days. It's available as in-person classroom, live virtual, and in-house corporate training — every course can also be delivered on-site for your team on dates that suit you.
Practical Applied Economics & Policy Analysis Training Course is scheduled in-classroom in Nairobi, Kenya, Mombasa, Kenya, Naivasha, Kenya, and Kisumu, Kenya, and 14 other locations, plus a live interactive virtual classroom you can join from anywhere. Check the schedule panel above for exact upcoming dates and fees in each location.
The next live virtual cohort of Practical Applied Economics & Policy Analysis starts October 19, 2026, with new classroom cohorts also running on a rolling basis. Pick a date and location in the schedule panel above, then click "Register for the Course" — it takes a few minutes and your seat is confirmed once payment or a signed purchase order is received.
Yes — delegates who meet the attendance requirement receive a Certificate of Completion for Practical Applied Economics & Policy Analysis Training Course from Vision Reach Global Consultancy, issued in the name you register with, so double-check the spelling at checkout.
Practical Applied Economics & Policy Analysis Training Course is pitched at intermediate professionals. If you're unsure whether it's the right fit for your current role or background, message our training advisors before you register and they'll help you confirm.
Fees for Practical Applied Economics & Policy Analysis Training Course vary by delivery location and format and are shown in real time in the schedule panel above once you pick a date. Register 3 or more delegates on the same course together and a 5% team discount is applied automatically — larger cohorts can request a custom corporate quote.
Yes — Practical Applied Economics & Policy Analysis Training Course can be delivered on-site at your offices (or virtually for distributed teams), with case studies and examples tailored to your industry and the specific challenges your team is working through. Switch to the "In-House" tab in the schedule panel above to request a proposal.
Related Training
Key Skills You'll Learn
Vision Reach Global
From $3,000 · KSh 230,000
Key Skills You'll Learn
Vision Reach Global
From $3,000 · KSh 230,000
Key Skills You'll Learn
Vision Reach Global
From $3,000 · KSh 220,000
Swipe to see more courses →
VRG brings strategic discipline to complex organizational challenges. Their approach is structured, data-driven, and outcome-focused.
Levis Wabwire
Managing Director
They facilitated our strategy review, we improved departmental KPI alignment by 35% and reduced operational bottlenecks significantly.
David Oketch
Strategy Lead
Employee engagement scores increased following the leadership training program. The difference in accountability culture is evident.
Wendy Albright
Program Manager