Do budget deficits crowd out private investment?: an analysis of the South African Economy
- Authors: Biza, Rumbidzai Aimee
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Individual investors -- South Africa , Budget deficits -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/24956 , vital:63750
- Description: This dissertation investigates whether budget deficits crowd out or crowd in private investment in South Africa, using quarterly South African data covering the period 1994 to 2009. South Africa has been experiencing unprecedented budget deficits since the 1960s and the study investigates how this has impacted on the country’s private investment demand. An empirical model linking private investment to its theoretical variables is specified and used to assess the quantitative effects of budget deficits on private investment. This study augments the co-integration and vector auto-regression (VAR) analysis with impulse response and variance decomposition analyses to provide robust long run and short run dynamic effects on private investment. The variables have been found to have a long run relationship with private investment. Results suggest that budget deficits significantly crowds out private investment. These results corroborate the theoretical predictions and are also supported by previous studies. , Thesis (MCom) -- Faculty of Management and Commerce, 2011
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
Informal cross border trading and poverty reduction in the Southern Africa development community: the case of Zimbabwe
- Authors: Kachere, Wadzanai
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Poverty -- South Africa , Households -- Zimbabwe , Food supply -- Zimbabwe , Entrepreneurship -- Zimbabwe , Poverty -- Economic aspects -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Social Science Dev)
- Identifier: vital:11421 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/500 , Poverty -- South Africa , Households -- Zimbabwe , Food supply -- Zimbabwe , Entrepreneurship -- Zimbabwe , Poverty -- Economic aspects -- Zimbabwe
- Description: This study investigates the impact of informal cross border trading on poverty reduction in Zimbabwe. In the context of this study, the term Informal Cross Border Trade (ICBT), is used to describe the activities of small entrepreneurs who are involved in buying and selling across national borders. The study focuses on whether the stated activities are lifting those participating out of poverty. The research problem is examined through an assessment of the income levels, assets acquirement, expenditures patterns, food security and family relations. The hypotheses tested in the research are that, “The extent of ICBT is significant in Zimbabwe; ICBT in the Southern Africa region is mainly dominated by women; and that ICBT contributes positively to poverty reduction”. In this context, poverty reduction is said to have occurred when informal cross border trading would have resulted in an improvement in the socio-economic wellbeing of traders‟ households. The Poverty Datum Line (PDL) is used as the measure of households‟ well-being. To assess the impact of ICBT on well-being, a survey was conducted whereby in-depth interviews using the questionnaire method were used to collect primary data. Secondary information was obtained from documentary searches at institutions and also using internet searches. From this study it has been found that ICBT has both positive and negative impacts with regard to social welfare. With regard to economic welfare, based on poverty indicator measures used in the study, ICBT contributes positively to Poverty Reduction. Thus the analysis revealed that informal cross border trade plays an important role in alleviating economic hardships, reducing poverty and enhancing welfare and human development in Zimbabwe.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011