Trends and determinants of inward foreign direct investment to South Africa
- Authors: Rusike, Tatonga Gardner
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: International business enterprises -- South Africa , Investments, Foreign -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Macroeconomics -- South Africa , Foreign exchange rates -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:995 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002730 , International business enterprises -- South Africa , Investments, Foreign -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Macroeconomics -- South Africa , Foreign exchange rates -- South Africa
- Description: Foreign direct investment (FDI) is seen as a way to provide the needed capital inflow to stimulate growth in a domestic economy. FDI can also result in increased employment levels, managerial skills and increase in technology. In efforts to attract FDI, host countries have undertaken various policy incentives to attract foreign investors. This study analyses the trends and determinants of inward FDI to South Africa for the period 1975-2005. The study starts by reviewing FDI literature on its determinants and provides the macroeconomic background and FDI related policies undertaken in South Africa. The trend and sectoral analysis provides the actual nature of FDI flows to South Africa. An empirical model linking theoretical and empirical determinants of FDI is estimated using the Johansen cointegration and VECM framework. The study also augments the cointegration framework with impulse response and variance decomposition analyses to complement the long and short run determinants of FDI. Dummy variables are used in each of the estimated FDI models to take into account the possibility of structural breaks. Results show that relative to the size of the economy and to other developing countries, South Africa still receives low levels of inward FDI. Only are few years are exceptional i.e. 1997, 2001 and 2005. From the sectoral distribution, the financial sector is now the major recipient of FDI followed by the mining and manufacturing sectors. The emergence of the financial sector could suggest that FDI motives could have shifted from the natural resource seeking and market seeking to efficiency seeking FDI. The United Kingdom emerges as the major source of FDI to South Africa followed by United States of America and Germany. Empirical analysis indicated that openness, exchange rate and financial development are important long run determinants of FDI. Increased openness and financial development attract FDI while an increase (depreciation) in the exchange rate deters FDI to South Africa. Market size emerges as a short run determinant of FDI although it is declining in importance. Most of the impulse response analysis confirmed the VECM findings. Variance decomposition analysis showed that FDI itself, imports and exchange rate explain a significant amount of the forecast error variance. The influence of market size variable is small and declining over time.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Rusike, Tatonga Gardner
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: International business enterprises -- South Africa , Investments, Foreign -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Macroeconomics -- South Africa , Foreign exchange rates -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:995 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002730 , International business enterprises -- South Africa , Investments, Foreign -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Macroeconomics -- South Africa , Foreign exchange rates -- South Africa
- Description: Foreign direct investment (FDI) is seen as a way to provide the needed capital inflow to stimulate growth in a domestic economy. FDI can also result in increased employment levels, managerial skills and increase in technology. In efforts to attract FDI, host countries have undertaken various policy incentives to attract foreign investors. This study analyses the trends and determinants of inward FDI to South Africa for the period 1975-2005. The study starts by reviewing FDI literature on its determinants and provides the macroeconomic background and FDI related policies undertaken in South Africa. The trend and sectoral analysis provides the actual nature of FDI flows to South Africa. An empirical model linking theoretical and empirical determinants of FDI is estimated using the Johansen cointegration and VECM framework. The study also augments the cointegration framework with impulse response and variance decomposition analyses to complement the long and short run determinants of FDI. Dummy variables are used in each of the estimated FDI models to take into account the possibility of structural breaks. Results show that relative to the size of the economy and to other developing countries, South Africa still receives low levels of inward FDI. Only are few years are exceptional i.e. 1997, 2001 and 2005. From the sectoral distribution, the financial sector is now the major recipient of FDI followed by the mining and manufacturing sectors. The emergence of the financial sector could suggest that FDI motives could have shifted from the natural resource seeking and market seeking to efficiency seeking FDI. The United Kingdom emerges as the major source of FDI to South Africa followed by United States of America and Germany. Empirical analysis indicated that openness, exchange rate and financial development are important long run determinants of FDI. Increased openness and financial development attract FDI while an increase (depreciation) in the exchange rate deters FDI to South Africa. Market size emerges as a short run determinant of FDI although it is declining in importance. Most of the impulse response analysis confirmed the VECM findings. Variance decomposition analysis showed that FDI itself, imports and exchange rate explain a significant amount of the forecast error variance. The influence of market size variable is small and declining over time.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
The effect of bond market on economic growth in South Africa
- Authors: Dingela, Siyasanga
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Bond market -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7218 , vital:21306
- Description: This paper investigates the effect of bond market on economic growth in South Africa. Quarterly data for South Africa for the period 2003-2014 was used to develop a general- to- specific Auto-Regressive Distribution Lag (ARDL) approach. The empirical results confirm that there is a positive relationship between Bond market and economic growth in South Africa. A co-integrated relationship between economic growth, stock market and banking sector was noticed in both the long-run and short-runs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Dingela, Siyasanga
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Bond market -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7218 , vital:21306
- Description: This paper investigates the effect of bond market on economic growth in South Africa. Quarterly data for South Africa for the period 2003-2014 was used to develop a general- to- specific Auto-Regressive Distribution Lag (ARDL) approach. The empirical results confirm that there is a positive relationship between Bond market and economic growth in South Africa. A co-integrated relationship between economic growth, stock market and banking sector was noticed in both the long-run and short-runs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Possible futures for the Republic of South Africa towards 2055
- Adendorff, Christian Michael
- Authors: Adendorff, Christian Michael
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa , Sustainable development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7816 , vital:24294
- Description: The purpose of this thesis was to develop four scenarios for South Africa over the next forty years: Mandela's Dream in which positive elements come into function for South Africa's economy and governance; the Historical African Syndrome, in which the key driving forces unfold in an uneven pattern, or have a differentiated impact on South Africa's economy; the Good, the Bad and the Ugly in which less good governance prevails, but where a fortunate economy and firm national management allow South Africa to become competitive and benefit from satisfactory economic growth; and the Pyramid Syndrome Scenario in which negative regional drivers of change corrode positive policies and initiatives in a manner which compounds the pre-existing threats to South Africa's growth.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Adendorff, Christian Michael
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa , Sustainable development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7816 , vital:24294
- Description: The purpose of this thesis was to develop four scenarios for South Africa over the next forty years: Mandela's Dream in which positive elements come into function for South Africa's economy and governance; the Historical African Syndrome, in which the key driving forces unfold in an uneven pattern, or have a differentiated impact on South Africa's economy; the Good, the Bad and the Ugly in which less good governance prevails, but where a fortunate economy and firm national management allow South Africa to become competitive and benefit from satisfactory economic growth; and the Pyramid Syndrome Scenario in which negative regional drivers of change corrode positive policies and initiatives in a manner which compounds the pre-existing threats to South Africa's growth.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
An analysis of the long run comovements between financial system development and mining production in South Africa
- Authors: Ajagbe, Stephen Mayowa
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa , Econometric models , Mineral industries -- Economic aspects -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions , South Africa -- Economic policy , Principal components analysis , Cointegration , Stock exchanges -- South Africa , Banks and banking -- South Africa , Foreign exchange rates
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:955 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002689 , Economic development -- South Africa , Econometric models , Mineral industries -- Economic aspects -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions , South Africa -- Economic policy , Principal components analysis , Cointegration , Stock exchanges -- South Africa , Banks and banking -- South Africa , Foreign exchange rates
- Description: This study examines the nature of the relationship which exists between mining sector production and development of the financial systems in South Africa. This is particularly important in that the mining sector is considered to be one of the major contributors to the country’s overall economic growth. South Africa is also considered to have a very well developed financial system, to the point where the dominance of one over the other is difficult to identify. Therefore offering insight into the nature of this relationship will assist policy makers in identifying the most effective policies in order to ensure that the developments within the financial systems impact appropriately on the mining sector, and ultimately on the economy. In addition to using the conventional proxies of financial system development, this study utilises the principal component analysis (PCA) to construct an index for the entire financial system. The multivariate cointegration approach as proposed by Johansen (1988) and Johansen and Juselius (1990) was then used to estimate the relationship between the development of the financial systems and the mining sector production for the period 1988-2008. The study reveals mixed results for different measures of financial system development. Those involving the banking system show that a negative relationship exists between total mining production and total credit extended to the private sector, while liquid liabilities has a positive relationship. Similarly, with the stock market system, mixed results are also obtained which reveal a negative relationship between total mining production and stock market capitalisation, while a positive relationship is found with secondary market turnover. Of all the financial system variables, only that of stock market capitalisation was found to be significant. The result with the financial development index reveals that a significant negative relationship exists between financial system development and total mining sector production. Results on the other variables controlled in the estimation show that positive and significant relationships exist between total mining production and both nominal exchange rate and political stability respectively. Increased mining production therefore takes place in periods of appreciating exchange rates, and similarly in the post-apartheid era. On the other hand, negative relationships were found for both trade openness and inflation control variables. The impulse response and variance decomposition analyses showed that total mining production explains the largest amount of shocks within itself. Overall, the study reveals that the mining sector might not have benefited much from the development in the South African financial system.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Ajagbe, Stephen Mayowa
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa , Econometric models , Mineral industries -- Economic aspects -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions , South Africa -- Economic policy , Principal components analysis , Cointegration , Stock exchanges -- South Africa , Banks and banking -- South Africa , Foreign exchange rates
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:955 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002689 , Economic development -- South Africa , Econometric models , Mineral industries -- Economic aspects -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions , South Africa -- Economic policy , Principal components analysis , Cointegration , Stock exchanges -- South Africa , Banks and banking -- South Africa , Foreign exchange rates
- Description: This study examines the nature of the relationship which exists between mining sector production and development of the financial systems in South Africa. This is particularly important in that the mining sector is considered to be one of the major contributors to the country’s overall economic growth. South Africa is also considered to have a very well developed financial system, to the point where the dominance of one over the other is difficult to identify. Therefore offering insight into the nature of this relationship will assist policy makers in identifying the most effective policies in order to ensure that the developments within the financial systems impact appropriately on the mining sector, and ultimately on the economy. In addition to using the conventional proxies of financial system development, this study utilises the principal component analysis (PCA) to construct an index for the entire financial system. The multivariate cointegration approach as proposed by Johansen (1988) and Johansen and Juselius (1990) was then used to estimate the relationship between the development of the financial systems and the mining sector production for the period 1988-2008. The study reveals mixed results for different measures of financial system development. Those involving the banking system show that a negative relationship exists between total mining production and total credit extended to the private sector, while liquid liabilities has a positive relationship. Similarly, with the stock market system, mixed results are also obtained which reveal a negative relationship between total mining production and stock market capitalisation, while a positive relationship is found with secondary market turnover. Of all the financial system variables, only that of stock market capitalisation was found to be significant. The result with the financial development index reveals that a significant negative relationship exists between financial system development and total mining sector production. Results on the other variables controlled in the estimation show that positive and significant relationships exist between total mining production and both nominal exchange rate and political stability respectively. Increased mining production therefore takes place in periods of appreciating exchange rates, and similarly in the post-apartheid era. On the other hand, negative relationships were found for both trade openness and inflation control variables. The impulse response and variance decomposition analyses showed that total mining production explains the largest amount of shocks within itself. Overall, the study reveals that the mining sector might not have benefited much from the development in the South African financial system.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
Government size, labour productivity and economic growth in South Africa
- Authors: Mbaleki, Chuma Innocent
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/48915 , vital:41170
- Description: This study investigates short-run and long-run effects of fiscal consolidation on labour productivity in South Africa using the autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing approach of cointegration. We use quarterly data collected in the period of 1994Q3 to 2017Q1. We disaggregate government expenditure as well as revenue and find a positive and significant long run relationship between revenue variables and labour productivity. This relationship is also positive and significant in the short run except for net tax variable, which seems to be growth contractive. The results further suggest a positive and significant long run relationship between government expenditure on health, public safety and order, culture and recreation as well as education and labour productivity. Government expenditure on education and health variables are also positive and significant in the short run, whilst expenditure on defense is negative and not significant both in the short run and long run.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Mbaleki, Chuma Innocent
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/48915 , vital:41170
- Description: This study investigates short-run and long-run effects of fiscal consolidation on labour productivity in South Africa using the autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing approach of cointegration. We use quarterly data collected in the period of 1994Q3 to 2017Q1. We disaggregate government expenditure as well as revenue and find a positive and significant long run relationship between revenue variables and labour productivity. This relationship is also positive and significant in the short run except for net tax variable, which seems to be growth contractive. The results further suggest a positive and significant long run relationship between government expenditure on health, public safety and order, culture and recreation as well as education and labour productivity. Government expenditure on education and health variables are also positive and significant in the short run, whilst expenditure on defense is negative and not significant both in the short run and long run.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
The effects of household agricultural income on the adoption of electrical appliances and energy security among rural households in Mnquma Local Municipality
- Ntonjane, P https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9432-9031
- Authors: Ntonjane, P https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9432-9031
- Date: 2021-09
- Subjects: Energy security , Sustainable development -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/22655 , vital:52617
- Description: Energy security is critical to global economic development and agricultural activities. Electricity is one of the most beneficial types of energy for rural household livelihoods and smallholder producers in South Africa. This study aims to examine the effects of household agricultural income on the adoption of electrical appliances and energy security among agricultural households in Mnquma Local Municipality. The study employed primary data obtained from 224 households using simple random sampling technique across three electrification stages. Descriptive statistics, and binary logistic regression was used to determine the relationship between socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the household and the household agricultural income on the adoption of new electrical appliances and energy security across the three electrification stages. Descriptive statistics results indicated that non-electrified (67.1percent) and recently electrified (54.3percent) villages are dominated by female-headed households, while in electrified households there are more male head households (58.3percent). The results also show that among the households that have the highest total monthly income (greater than R15000), 34.5percent were electrified, 17.1 percent were recently electrified, and 4.3percent were non-electrified. The Binary logistic regression model's findings for the second objective revealed that household head factors such as age, monthly total household income, household size, and household agricultural income have significant effects on energy security. The study's findings revealed that household agricultural income has a significant impact at a 5 percent significant level on the adoption of electrical appliances. Binary logistic regression findings for the third objective revealed that on new electrical appliance adoption there was a significant effect of gender (at 5percent level), household size, energy security, and household agricultural income at a 1percent significance level. Binary logistic regression revealed that the coefficient of household size variable is positive and significant at a 1percent significant level on energy security and electrical appliance adoption. In this study, household agricultural income on the adoption of electrical appliances has been found to be the most critical factor influencing the energy security status of households among the selected rural households in Mnquma Local Municipality. As a result, policies must be put in place to facilitate access to electrical appliances through electrification programs, invention of affordable electric appliances, encourage participation in agricultural production and agricultural market access, that will provide households with social benefits. To improve energy security, electrical appliances should be simple to use and aid in the transition from biomass to electricity. , Thesis (MAgric) -- Faculty of Science and Agriculture, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-09
- Authors: Ntonjane, P https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9432-9031
- Date: 2021-09
- Subjects: Energy security , Sustainable development -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/22655 , vital:52617
- Description: Energy security is critical to global economic development and agricultural activities. Electricity is one of the most beneficial types of energy for rural household livelihoods and smallholder producers in South Africa. This study aims to examine the effects of household agricultural income on the adoption of electrical appliances and energy security among agricultural households in Mnquma Local Municipality. The study employed primary data obtained from 224 households using simple random sampling technique across three electrification stages. Descriptive statistics, and binary logistic regression was used to determine the relationship between socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the household and the household agricultural income on the adoption of new electrical appliances and energy security across the three electrification stages. Descriptive statistics results indicated that non-electrified (67.1percent) and recently electrified (54.3percent) villages are dominated by female-headed households, while in electrified households there are more male head households (58.3percent). The results also show that among the households that have the highest total monthly income (greater than R15000), 34.5percent were electrified, 17.1 percent were recently electrified, and 4.3percent were non-electrified. The Binary logistic regression model's findings for the second objective revealed that household head factors such as age, monthly total household income, household size, and household agricultural income have significant effects on energy security. The study's findings revealed that household agricultural income has a significant impact at a 5 percent significant level on the adoption of electrical appliances. Binary logistic regression findings for the third objective revealed that on new electrical appliance adoption there was a significant effect of gender (at 5percent level), household size, energy security, and household agricultural income at a 1percent significance level. Binary logistic regression revealed that the coefficient of household size variable is positive and significant at a 1percent significant level on energy security and electrical appliance adoption. In this study, household agricultural income on the adoption of electrical appliances has been found to be the most critical factor influencing the energy security status of households among the selected rural households in Mnquma Local Municipality. As a result, policies must be put in place to facilitate access to electrical appliances through electrification programs, invention of affordable electric appliances, encourage participation in agricultural production and agricultural market access, that will provide households with social benefits. To improve energy security, electrical appliances should be simple to use and aid in the transition from biomass to electricity. , Thesis (MAgric) -- Faculty of Science and Agriculture, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-09
The role of export diversification on economic growth in South Africa: 1980 - 2010
- Authors: Mudenda, Caroline
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa , International trade , Exports -- South Africa , Capital movements -- South Africa , Human capital -- South Africa , Free trade -- South Africa , Foreign exchange -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Com
- Identifier: vital:11463 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1007044 , Economic development -- South Africa , International trade , Exports -- South Africa , Capital movements -- South Africa , Human capital -- South Africa , Free trade -- South Africa , Foreign exchange -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions
- Description: This study examined the role of export diversification on economic growth in South Africa. The study used annual time series data for the period covering 1980 to 2010 and employed a Vector Error Correction Model to determine the effects of export diversification and possible factors that affect it on economic growth. Possible factors that affect export diversification considered as independent variables in this study include gross capital formation, human capital, real effective exchange rate and trade openness. Results of the study reveal that export diversification and trade openness are positively related to economic growth while real effective exchange rate, capital formation and human capital have negative long run relationships with economic growth. The study recommended the continual implementation of trade liberalisation by the South African government. The South African government is also encouraged to promote the production of a diversified export basket through subsidisation, promotion of innovation and production of new products.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Mudenda, Caroline
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa , International trade , Exports -- South Africa , Capital movements -- South Africa , Human capital -- South Africa , Free trade -- South Africa , Foreign exchange -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Com
- Identifier: vital:11463 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1007044 , Economic development -- South Africa , International trade , Exports -- South Africa , Capital movements -- South Africa , Human capital -- South Africa , Free trade -- South Africa , Foreign exchange -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions
- Description: This study examined the role of export diversification on economic growth in South Africa. The study used annual time series data for the period covering 1980 to 2010 and employed a Vector Error Correction Model to determine the effects of export diversification and possible factors that affect it on economic growth. Possible factors that affect export diversification considered as independent variables in this study include gross capital formation, human capital, real effective exchange rate and trade openness. Results of the study reveal that export diversification and trade openness are positively related to economic growth while real effective exchange rate, capital formation and human capital have negative long run relationships with economic growth. The study recommended the continual implementation of trade liberalisation by the South African government. The South African government is also encouraged to promote the production of a diversified export basket through subsidisation, promotion of innovation and production of new products.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The impact of stock market development on economic growth: evidence from South Africa
- Authors: Vacu, Nomfundo Portia
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Stock exchanges -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Stocks -- Economic aspects -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions , Stock market development , Economic growth , South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Com
- Identifier: vital:11655 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1006983 , Stock exchanges -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Stocks -- Economic aspects -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions , Stock market development , Economic growth , South Africa
- Description: The main objective of this study is to examine the long run relationship between stock market development and economic growth in the case of South Africa. The study used quarterly data covering the period from 1990Q1 to 2010Q4. To empirically test the link between the two variables, the study used the Johnson’s cointegration approach and Granger causality so as to test the direction of the relationship. The Vector Error Correction Model was also employed to capture both short run and long run dynamics. Generally, the results reveal that a long run relationship exists between the two variables and the causality flows from economic growth to stock market development. Also, the extent to which of stock market development impacts on growth is statistically weak.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Vacu, Nomfundo Portia
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Stock exchanges -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Stocks -- Economic aspects -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions , Stock market development , Economic growth , South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Com
- Identifier: vital:11655 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1006983 , Stock exchanges -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Stocks -- Economic aspects -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions , Stock market development , Economic growth , South Africa
- Description: The main objective of this study is to examine the long run relationship between stock market development and economic growth in the case of South Africa. The study used quarterly data covering the period from 1990Q1 to 2010Q4. To empirically test the link between the two variables, the study used the Johnson’s cointegration approach and Granger causality so as to test the direction of the relationship. The Vector Error Correction Model was also employed to capture both short run and long run dynamics. Generally, the results reveal that a long run relationship exists between the two variables and the causality flows from economic growth to stock market development. Also, the extent to which of stock market development impacts on growth is statistically weak.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Learnership program's effectiveness at an FET college
- Lekhelebana, Letlatsa George
- Authors: Lekhelebana, Letlatsa George
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Vocational education , Skilled labor -- South Africa , Unemployment -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Universities and colleges -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8870 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020314
- Description: High levels of unemployment and skills shortages in key parts of the South African economy are well documented. The failure of the South African economy to absorb new entrants to the job market is also well documented. The paradox of an economy that was growing for over a decade during the late nineties and early 2000s creating a lot of vacancies and yet at the same time seeing ever growing levels of unemployment numbers also makes for interesting reading. Learnership programs are intended to address this situation by reducing the problem of skills shortages and leading in the human capital development that is aligned to industry needs. Thus is the purpose of this study to determine whether the beneficiaries of the learnership programs, the graduates, find benefit from having completed these learnership programs. It is to evaluate whether they find the program to have been effective in either equipping them sufficiently to improve prospects of finding permanent employment or successfully starting their own businesses. An extensive literature study of the history of the FET and its development, the concept of learnership and legislation and statutes applicable to the sector in South Africa was undertaken so that the skills development initiatives in the country are contextualised. The empirical part of the study involved a self-constructed questionnaire designed to illicit perspectives of the FET training and learnership within the FET graduate population that have completed their studies at an FET institution within Nelson Mandela Bay. The data collected indicate that a substantial majority of the sample find The data collected indicate that a substantial majority of the sample find the training to be effective and confirm the literature findings that learnerships can improve the issue of skills shortage in industry. The study makes recommendations that encompass work-based strategies and training based strategies to further improve the program. The recommendations are targeted at the FET college, the work-place training providers and the MERSETA and are meant solely to assist the organisations in overcoming the identified challenges emanating from learnership implementation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Lekhelebana, Letlatsa George
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Vocational education , Skilled labor -- South Africa , Unemployment -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Universities and colleges -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8870 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020314
- Description: High levels of unemployment and skills shortages in key parts of the South African economy are well documented. The failure of the South African economy to absorb new entrants to the job market is also well documented. The paradox of an economy that was growing for over a decade during the late nineties and early 2000s creating a lot of vacancies and yet at the same time seeing ever growing levels of unemployment numbers also makes for interesting reading. Learnership programs are intended to address this situation by reducing the problem of skills shortages and leading in the human capital development that is aligned to industry needs. Thus is the purpose of this study to determine whether the beneficiaries of the learnership programs, the graduates, find benefit from having completed these learnership programs. It is to evaluate whether they find the program to have been effective in either equipping them sufficiently to improve prospects of finding permanent employment or successfully starting their own businesses. An extensive literature study of the history of the FET and its development, the concept of learnership and legislation and statutes applicable to the sector in South Africa was undertaken so that the skills development initiatives in the country are contextualised. The empirical part of the study involved a self-constructed questionnaire designed to illicit perspectives of the FET training and learnership within the FET graduate population that have completed their studies at an FET institution within Nelson Mandela Bay. The data collected indicate that a substantial majority of the sample find The data collected indicate that a substantial majority of the sample find the training to be effective and confirm the literature findings that learnerships can improve the issue of skills shortage in industry. The study makes recommendations that encompass work-based strategies and training based strategies to further improve the program. The recommendations are targeted at the FET college, the work-place training providers and the MERSETA and are meant solely to assist the organisations in overcoming the identified challenges emanating from learnership implementation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
An econometric analysis of the impact of economic freedom on economic growth in the SADC
- Authors: Gorlach, Vsevolod Igorevich
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa , Economic development
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:8983 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1539 , Economic development -- South Africa , Economic development
- Description: The conventional approach to increasing economic growth - increasing inputs, such as labour and capital, is not always possible. The wider, fundamental sources of economic growth need to be considered too. Foreign aid is a temporary lifeline and does not spur economic growth. Conversely, financial assistance negatively affects growth and can hamper development prospects. Economic freedom and economically freer countries have been associated with higher growth rates, higher per capita incomes, greater volumes of trade, prosperity and overall wellbeing. By improving their economic freedom, deregulating the economy and allowing economic freedom to prosper, countries can experience sustained GDP growth. Previous studies have shown that economic freedom and economic growth are exponentially related - and that by initially becoming freer, countires can increase their growth rates at higher rates. The main objective of the SADC is to achieve development and economic growth, to alleviate poverty and enhance the standard and quality of life for the peoples of Southern Africa. The SADC is attempting to achieve economic integration through macroeconomic convergence. A number of macroeconomic variables have been set to act as primary indicators. These include inflation, fiscal balance, public debt and the current account balance. By introducing the concept that economic freedom can lead to higher growth rates and being able to identify economic freedom, it makes it possible to investigate how the SADC can achieve its set goals by becoming freer. By investigating individual components that constitute the overall freedom index, it becomes possible to establish the relationship that exists between this viriable and economic growth. This will illustrate where deregulation and freedom are most effective and where policy decisions need to be highlighted. The 2008 economic crisis revealed that countries that decreased their economic freedom have fared worse than countries allowing freedom to prosper. Government fiscal stimulus has had no positive impact on growth rates; the negative effects of reducing economic freedom will onlky be fully seen in future years. However, the majority of the SADC countries showed a relatively strong fiscal stance during the recession. This study established whether that a positive relationship between economic freedom and economic growth in the SADC. Secondly, the direction of causality that economic freedom leads to economic growth. The findings reveal that economic freedom fosters economic growth in general, and for the SADC in particular. Empirical evidence has been found for the SADC; and the implications of becoming freer are more fully explained.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Gorlach, Vsevolod Igorevich
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa , Economic development
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:8983 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1539 , Economic development -- South Africa , Economic development
- Description: The conventional approach to increasing economic growth - increasing inputs, such as labour and capital, is not always possible. The wider, fundamental sources of economic growth need to be considered too. Foreign aid is a temporary lifeline and does not spur economic growth. Conversely, financial assistance negatively affects growth and can hamper development prospects. Economic freedom and economically freer countries have been associated with higher growth rates, higher per capita incomes, greater volumes of trade, prosperity and overall wellbeing. By improving their economic freedom, deregulating the economy and allowing economic freedom to prosper, countries can experience sustained GDP growth. Previous studies have shown that economic freedom and economic growth are exponentially related - and that by initially becoming freer, countires can increase their growth rates at higher rates. The main objective of the SADC is to achieve development and economic growth, to alleviate poverty and enhance the standard and quality of life for the peoples of Southern Africa. The SADC is attempting to achieve economic integration through macroeconomic convergence. A number of macroeconomic variables have been set to act as primary indicators. These include inflation, fiscal balance, public debt and the current account balance. By introducing the concept that economic freedom can lead to higher growth rates and being able to identify economic freedom, it makes it possible to investigate how the SADC can achieve its set goals by becoming freer. By investigating individual components that constitute the overall freedom index, it becomes possible to establish the relationship that exists between this viriable and economic growth. This will illustrate where deregulation and freedom are most effective and where policy decisions need to be highlighted. The 2008 economic crisis revealed that countries that decreased their economic freedom have fared worse than countries allowing freedom to prosper. Government fiscal stimulus has had no positive impact on growth rates; the negative effects of reducing economic freedom will onlky be fully seen in future years. However, the majority of the SADC countries showed a relatively strong fiscal stance during the recession. This study established whether that a positive relationship between economic freedom and economic growth in the SADC. Secondly, the direction of causality that economic freedom leads to economic growth. The findings reveal that economic freedom fosters economic growth in general, and for the SADC in particular. Empirical evidence has been found for the SADC; and the implications of becoming freer are more fully explained.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
An investigation of the internal challenges that hinder sustainability of the Furntech Nyanga incubates
- Authors: Sakuba, Siyasanga
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Business incubators -- South Africa -- Cape Town , Business incubators -- Training of -- South Africa -- Cape Town , Entrepreneurship -- South Africa – Cape Town , Unemployment -- South Africa , Rate of return -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Training needs -- South Africa -- Cape Town , Furntech (Nyanga)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142830 , vital:38121
- Description: The South African unemployment rate is currently at 27.6 per cent (Statistics South Africa, 2019). In an effort to combat unemployment, the South African government has implemented various mechanisms to provide opportunities to the people and combat unemployment. One of these mechanisms is to invest in the establishment of entrepreneurship incubators while the Furntech incubator is one of the incubators established for this purpose. It is imperative that the government spending on these mechanisms is justified by a return on investment which, in this case, should be to reduce unemployment and increase the overall entrepreneurial activity. In view of Furntech, with specific reference to the Nyanga incubation centre, there is a high failure rate with very little output of sustainable enterprises from the two-year incubation period. This study seeks to investigate the internal challenges that hinder the sustainability of these entrepreneurs to either drop out before the end of the two-year incubation period or to furnish the two years without becoming sustainable entrepreneurs. This study seeks to investigate this matter by using a semi -structured interview schedule that was geared towards investigating the research problem from the view of the incubates. The findings of the study showed that Furntech can be commended in respect of the transfer of technical skills. Furntech, however, failed to support the entrepreneurs with the other business support services that are part of their services, namely the business advisory, financial support and business skills. These findings provide a guideline of where Furntech needs to improve its service offering to gain a higher output of sustainable entrepreneurs. It is important to note that even though Furntech has representation in three provinces with two incubators in the Western Cape (Cape Town and Nyanga), however, this study was limited to the Furntech Nyanga incubates.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Sakuba, Siyasanga
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Business incubators -- South Africa -- Cape Town , Business incubators -- Training of -- South Africa -- Cape Town , Entrepreneurship -- South Africa – Cape Town , Unemployment -- South Africa , Rate of return -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Training needs -- South Africa -- Cape Town , Furntech (Nyanga)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142830 , vital:38121
- Description: The South African unemployment rate is currently at 27.6 per cent (Statistics South Africa, 2019). In an effort to combat unemployment, the South African government has implemented various mechanisms to provide opportunities to the people and combat unemployment. One of these mechanisms is to invest in the establishment of entrepreneurship incubators while the Furntech incubator is one of the incubators established for this purpose. It is imperative that the government spending on these mechanisms is justified by a return on investment which, in this case, should be to reduce unemployment and increase the overall entrepreneurial activity. In view of Furntech, with specific reference to the Nyanga incubation centre, there is a high failure rate with very little output of sustainable enterprises from the two-year incubation period. This study seeks to investigate the internal challenges that hinder the sustainability of these entrepreneurs to either drop out before the end of the two-year incubation period or to furnish the two years without becoming sustainable entrepreneurs. This study seeks to investigate this matter by using a semi -structured interview schedule that was geared towards investigating the research problem from the view of the incubates. The findings of the study showed that Furntech can be commended in respect of the transfer of technical skills. Furntech, however, failed to support the entrepreneurs with the other business support services that are part of their services, namely the business advisory, financial support and business skills. These findings provide a guideline of where Furntech needs to improve its service offering to gain a higher output of sustainable entrepreneurs. It is important to note that even though Furntech has representation in three provinces with two incubators in the Western Cape (Cape Town and Nyanga), however, this study was limited to the Furntech Nyanga incubates.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Elasticity of the South African economy towards portfolio investments in BRICS countries
- Authors: Taonezvi, Lovemore
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/44537 , vital:38141
- Description: The emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) have been experiencing high growth rates since the turn of the millennium, whereas economic growth has been elusive in South Africa. As the newest member of BRICS, South Africa is expected to economically benefit through, amongst others, increases in capital flows, foreign investments by local firms, and increases in trade. Such benefits are anticipated to propel the country’s economic growth, thereby helping it to tackle its chronic problems of high unemployment, poverty, and economic inequality. The inclusion of South Africa in BRICS has, however, been viewed by critics as erroneous, since the country has, inter alia, poor economic growth; a small economy and population; and political instability. While foreign portfolio investment (FPI) inflows to South Africa have surged in recent years, economic growth has remained lacklustre. These flows have also faced sudden reversals, especially during the financial crisis of 2007-2009. With the potential to leverage its growth from intra-BRICS FPI inflows, it becomes of paramount significance for policymakers to have knowledge of the South African economy’s responsiveness to such inflows. With a theoretical framework based on the endogenous growth model, an augmented Cobb-Douglas production function was extended in this thesis in order to study the relationship between BRICS growth and intra-BRICS FPI in a dynamic panel data generalised method of moments (GMM) context. Similarly, the South African economy’s elasticity towards intraBRICS FPI was estimated. Vector autoregressive (VAR) analysis was used to evaluate the responsiveness of South Africa’s economy to an innovative shock to intra-BRICS FPI. Annual and quarterly data for the period 2000-2016 were used in panel data and VAR analysis, respectively. It was found that intra-BRICS FPI flows have a positive and statistically significant relationship with BRICS growth, while the elasticity of the South African economy to these flows is estimated at 0.007. Additionally, the efficiency and accessibility dimensions of financial market development do not assist FPI in promoting growth in BRICS, while financial market depth does. South Africa’s BRICS membership has a positive effect on its own growth, while for other BRICS nations, this membership is negative and insignificant. Credit rating downgrades have a negative and insignificant impact on economic growth, while the negative impact for inflation, government expenditure, and total labour employment is significant. Conversely, gross capital formation and trade openness have a positive and significant relationship with BRICS growth. The study also determined that a unit shock on intra-BRICS FPI resulted in negative fluctuations of South Africa’s economy within the first eight quarters before being positive and mostly constant thereafter. By supplementing domestic savings and facilitating the international integration of domestic financial markets, FPI promotes growth in BRICS. The short-term, ease of reversibility, and speculative nature of FPI are amongst some of the reasons for its destabilising effect on South Africa’s economy. Furthermore, inflation is a key determinant of FPI inflows to South Africa. Additional BRIC cooperation in FPI and trade; increased investments in domestic capital; reductions of inflation and corruption; investments in education and skills development; and stock market reforms are some of the recommendations for BRIC, and South Africa in particular. South Africa can consider prudential use of a mix of capital account controls, as well as fiscal and monetary policies to cushion its economy from FPI shocks in the short- to medium-term.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Taonezvi, Lovemore
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/44537 , vital:38141
- Description: The emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) have been experiencing high growth rates since the turn of the millennium, whereas economic growth has been elusive in South Africa. As the newest member of BRICS, South Africa is expected to economically benefit through, amongst others, increases in capital flows, foreign investments by local firms, and increases in trade. Such benefits are anticipated to propel the country’s economic growth, thereby helping it to tackle its chronic problems of high unemployment, poverty, and economic inequality. The inclusion of South Africa in BRICS has, however, been viewed by critics as erroneous, since the country has, inter alia, poor economic growth; a small economy and population; and political instability. While foreign portfolio investment (FPI) inflows to South Africa have surged in recent years, economic growth has remained lacklustre. These flows have also faced sudden reversals, especially during the financial crisis of 2007-2009. With the potential to leverage its growth from intra-BRICS FPI inflows, it becomes of paramount significance for policymakers to have knowledge of the South African economy’s responsiveness to such inflows. With a theoretical framework based on the endogenous growth model, an augmented Cobb-Douglas production function was extended in this thesis in order to study the relationship between BRICS growth and intra-BRICS FPI in a dynamic panel data generalised method of moments (GMM) context. Similarly, the South African economy’s elasticity towards intraBRICS FPI was estimated. Vector autoregressive (VAR) analysis was used to evaluate the responsiveness of South Africa’s economy to an innovative shock to intra-BRICS FPI. Annual and quarterly data for the period 2000-2016 were used in panel data and VAR analysis, respectively. It was found that intra-BRICS FPI flows have a positive and statistically significant relationship with BRICS growth, while the elasticity of the South African economy to these flows is estimated at 0.007. Additionally, the efficiency and accessibility dimensions of financial market development do not assist FPI in promoting growth in BRICS, while financial market depth does. South Africa’s BRICS membership has a positive effect on its own growth, while for other BRICS nations, this membership is negative and insignificant. Credit rating downgrades have a negative and insignificant impact on economic growth, while the negative impact for inflation, government expenditure, and total labour employment is significant. Conversely, gross capital formation and trade openness have a positive and significant relationship with BRICS growth. The study also determined that a unit shock on intra-BRICS FPI resulted in negative fluctuations of South Africa’s economy within the first eight quarters before being positive and mostly constant thereafter. By supplementing domestic savings and facilitating the international integration of domestic financial markets, FPI promotes growth in BRICS. The short-term, ease of reversibility, and speculative nature of FPI are amongst some of the reasons for its destabilising effect on South Africa’s economy. Furthermore, inflation is a key determinant of FPI inflows to South Africa. Additional BRIC cooperation in FPI and trade; increased investments in domestic capital; reductions of inflation and corruption; investments in education and skills development; and stock market reforms are some of the recommendations for BRIC, and South Africa in particular. South Africa can consider prudential use of a mix of capital account controls, as well as fiscal and monetary policies to cushion its economy from FPI shocks in the short- to medium-term.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
National debt and sovereign credit ratings
- Authors: Orsmond, Daniel
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Debts, Public -- South Africa , Credit ratings -- South Africa , Gross domestic product -- Africa , Inflation (Finance) -- Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Economic history , Macroeconomics , Moody's Investors Service , Standard and Poor's Ratings Services , Fitch Ratings (Firm)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115160 , vital:34083
- Description: In recent years South Africa’s foreign and local denominated debt has been downgraded by the three major global credit agencies, Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) and Fitch. The foreign debt has been downgraded to speculative grade or ‘junk’ status by all three agencies. Local debt has been downgraded to ‘junk’ by S& P and Fitch, but Moody’s currently maintains local debt at the lowest level of investment grade. Many economists believe that South Africa’s rapidly rising debt levels are the major contributor to the decisions to downgrade South Africa’s debt. Yet many countries with higher levels of debt continue to be rated investment grade. Clearly, factors other than the actual level of debt are important in determining the credit rating agencies’ rating decisions. The literature suggests several variables are important in determining a country’s sovereign credit rating. These variables include not just the ratio of government debt to gross domestic product, but also a country’s real growth rate, inflation, gross domestic product per capita, external balance to gross domestic product, default history and the level of economic development. In examining the proposition that it is not a country’s debt level per se that matters, but rather the dynamics surrounding that debt, this research also includes three additional variables that are not usually mentioned in the literature. These, based on van der Merwe (1993), are the real GDP growth rate less the real interest rate, the ratio of the fiscal balance to GDP, and the ratio of government interest payments to government expenditure. The purpose of this addition is to examine whether rather than a country’s debt level (debt to GDP variable), it is the sustainability of a country’s ability to service debt, as indicated by the three additional ‘debt dynamic’ variables, that is most important when determining sovereign credit ratings. Panel data analysis for a sample of 12 countries over the period 1996Q1 to 2017Q4 indicates that of the broad macroeconomic variables mentioned in the literature, government debt to GDP, the real growth rate, inflation (cpi), and default history are all statistically significant, with the coefficients having the correct signs in all specification of the model, with the exception of the real growth rate in Models 2 and 3. With regards to the debt dynamic variables, the real growth rate less the real interest rate, as well as the interest payments to government expenditure variables are found to be significant determinants of sovereign credit ratings. Thus, the findings of the research suggest that the level of debt alone is an inadequate determinant of sovereign credit ratings. The dynamics of debt along with other macroeconomic variables are also important determinants of a country’s credit rating. Concerning policy recommendations, it is evident that debt sustainability is important for sovereign credit ratings. Evidence of the direct importance of economic growth in determining credit ratings is mixed, but growth is a key driver of debt dynamics variables and therefore of ratings. This suggests that policy should focus on stimulating growth to reduce the gap between real growth and real interest rates as well as increasing the denominator of the debt to GDP ratio and increase the size of the tax base, which would improve government’s ability to service the interest payments on its debt.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Orsmond, Daniel
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Debts, Public -- South Africa , Credit ratings -- South Africa , Gross domestic product -- Africa , Inflation (Finance) -- Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Economic history , Macroeconomics , Moody's Investors Service , Standard and Poor's Ratings Services , Fitch Ratings (Firm)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115160 , vital:34083
- Description: In recent years South Africa’s foreign and local denominated debt has been downgraded by the three major global credit agencies, Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) and Fitch. The foreign debt has been downgraded to speculative grade or ‘junk’ status by all three agencies. Local debt has been downgraded to ‘junk’ by S& P and Fitch, but Moody’s currently maintains local debt at the lowest level of investment grade. Many economists believe that South Africa’s rapidly rising debt levels are the major contributor to the decisions to downgrade South Africa’s debt. Yet many countries with higher levels of debt continue to be rated investment grade. Clearly, factors other than the actual level of debt are important in determining the credit rating agencies’ rating decisions. The literature suggests several variables are important in determining a country’s sovereign credit rating. These variables include not just the ratio of government debt to gross domestic product, but also a country’s real growth rate, inflation, gross domestic product per capita, external balance to gross domestic product, default history and the level of economic development. In examining the proposition that it is not a country’s debt level per se that matters, but rather the dynamics surrounding that debt, this research also includes three additional variables that are not usually mentioned in the literature. These, based on van der Merwe (1993), are the real GDP growth rate less the real interest rate, the ratio of the fiscal balance to GDP, and the ratio of government interest payments to government expenditure. The purpose of this addition is to examine whether rather than a country’s debt level (debt to GDP variable), it is the sustainability of a country’s ability to service debt, as indicated by the three additional ‘debt dynamic’ variables, that is most important when determining sovereign credit ratings. Panel data analysis for a sample of 12 countries over the period 1996Q1 to 2017Q4 indicates that of the broad macroeconomic variables mentioned in the literature, government debt to GDP, the real growth rate, inflation (cpi), and default history are all statistically significant, with the coefficients having the correct signs in all specification of the model, with the exception of the real growth rate in Models 2 and 3. With regards to the debt dynamic variables, the real growth rate less the real interest rate, as well as the interest payments to government expenditure variables are found to be significant determinants of sovereign credit ratings. Thus, the findings of the research suggest that the level of debt alone is an inadequate determinant of sovereign credit ratings. The dynamics of debt along with other macroeconomic variables are also important determinants of a country’s credit rating. Concerning policy recommendations, it is evident that debt sustainability is important for sovereign credit ratings. Evidence of the direct importance of economic growth in determining credit ratings is mixed, but growth is a key driver of debt dynamics variables and therefore of ratings. This suggests that policy should focus on stimulating growth to reduce the gap between real growth and real interest rates as well as increasing the denominator of the debt to GDP ratio and increase the size of the tax base, which would improve government’s ability to service the interest payments on its debt.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Financial liberalisation and economic growth in South Africa
- Sibanda, Hlanganani Siqondile.
- Authors: Sibanda, Hlanganani Siqondile.
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa , Monetary policy -- South Africa , Finance -- Management , Capital movements -- South Africa , Free trade -- South Africa , Expenditures, Public
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Com
- Identifier: vital:11471 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1007131 , Economic development -- South Africa , Monetary policy -- South Africa , Finance -- Management , Capital movements -- South Africa , Free trade -- South Africa , Expenditures, Public
- Description: This study examined the impact of financial liberalisation on economic growth in South Africa. The study used quarterly time series data for the period 1980 to 2010. A vector error correction model was used to determine the short run and long run effects of financial liberalisation on economic growth in South Africa. The other explanatory variables considered in this study were government expenditure, investment ratio, public expenditure on education and trade openness. Results from this study revealed that financial liberalisation, government expenditure and public expenditure on education have a positive impact on economic growth while trade openness negatively affects economic growth in South Africa. Policy recommendations were made using these results.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Sibanda, Hlanganani Siqondile.
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa , Monetary policy -- South Africa , Finance -- Management , Capital movements -- South Africa , Free trade -- South Africa , Expenditures, Public
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Com
- Identifier: vital:11471 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1007131 , Economic development -- South Africa , Monetary policy -- South Africa , Finance -- Management , Capital movements -- South Africa , Free trade -- South Africa , Expenditures, Public
- Description: This study examined the impact of financial liberalisation on economic growth in South Africa. The study used quarterly time series data for the period 1980 to 2010. A vector error correction model was used to determine the short run and long run effects of financial liberalisation on economic growth in South Africa. The other explanatory variables considered in this study were government expenditure, investment ratio, public expenditure on education and trade openness. Results from this study revealed that financial liberalisation, government expenditure and public expenditure on education have a positive impact on economic growth while trade openness negatively affects economic growth in South Africa. Policy recommendations were made using these results.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Social movements and economic development in post apartheid South Africa: lessons from Latin America
- Authors: Makoni, Tinotenda Charity
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: South Africa -- Economic conditions -- 1991- , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994- , Social movements -- South Africa , Social movements -- Latin America , Economic development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76420 , vital:30561
- Description: The aim of this research is to bring the literature on political agency and economics together in an analysis of whether social movements can play an important role in economic development in post-apartheid South Africa. The entrenched discourse of sluggish growth and high inequality in post-apartheid South Africa can largely be attributed to the political decision to implement a neoliberal economic development orthodoxy. On the one hand, there is an urgent need to shift the economic development model to an alternate developmentalist model. However, no clearly articulated alternative developmental model has emerged. As a result, economically, South Africa is seemingly stuck. On the other hand, the selection of an economic development model and change in macroeconomic policies requires a political shift. Politically, formal politics has assumed the form of neoliberal democracy, characterised by a largely centralised state and the usurpation of the state and institutions by a national bourgeoisie. Social movements have emerged in response to the failure of neoliberalism to fulfil the promises of early post independent periods. They have been largely successful at highlighting the injustices and the inequalities in the country. However their ability to influence structural economic development has come into question. Firstly, social movements and their “politically destabilising distributive demands” have faced repression from the state as the state and institutions are aligned behind the interests of capital under a neoliberal democracy. Secondly, social movements in South Africa have been largely ideologically under-developed. They have been largely fragmented and tended to contest specific single issues rather than aiming to shift the deeper underlying systemic drivers behind the symptomatic immediate discomforts. The economic dimensions of such a shift are particularly unclear. This fragmentation and apparent lack of economic pragmatism make management or suppression of disruptive movements by the state relatively easy. The research uses a contrast between the Latin American social movements against a South African background in order to see what lessons South Africa can draw from social movements in Latin America. The Latin American case is cautiously more positive and provides comparably more sanguine lessons. In this way, this research seeks to construct a more comprehensive framework for the further study of social movements in South Africa and their potential impact on economic development in South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Social movements and economic development in post apartheid South Africa: lessons from Latin America
- Authors: Makoni, Tinotenda Charity
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: South Africa -- Economic conditions -- 1991- , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994- , Social movements -- South Africa , Social movements -- Latin America , Economic development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76420 , vital:30561
- Description: The aim of this research is to bring the literature on political agency and economics together in an analysis of whether social movements can play an important role in economic development in post-apartheid South Africa. The entrenched discourse of sluggish growth and high inequality in post-apartheid South Africa can largely be attributed to the political decision to implement a neoliberal economic development orthodoxy. On the one hand, there is an urgent need to shift the economic development model to an alternate developmentalist model. However, no clearly articulated alternative developmental model has emerged. As a result, economically, South Africa is seemingly stuck. On the other hand, the selection of an economic development model and change in macroeconomic policies requires a political shift. Politically, formal politics has assumed the form of neoliberal democracy, characterised by a largely centralised state and the usurpation of the state and institutions by a national bourgeoisie. Social movements have emerged in response to the failure of neoliberalism to fulfil the promises of early post independent periods. They have been largely successful at highlighting the injustices and the inequalities in the country. However their ability to influence structural economic development has come into question. Firstly, social movements and their “politically destabilising distributive demands” have faced repression from the state as the state and institutions are aligned behind the interests of capital under a neoliberal democracy. Secondly, social movements in South Africa have been largely ideologically under-developed. They have been largely fragmented and tended to contest specific single issues rather than aiming to shift the deeper underlying systemic drivers behind the symptomatic immediate discomforts. The economic dimensions of such a shift are particularly unclear. This fragmentation and apparent lack of economic pragmatism make management or suppression of disruptive movements by the state relatively easy. The research uses a contrast between the Latin American social movements against a South African background in order to see what lessons South Africa can draw from social movements in Latin America. The Latin American case is cautiously more positive and provides comparably more sanguine lessons. In this way, this research seeks to construct a more comprehensive framework for the further study of social movements in South Africa and their potential impact on economic development in South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
The impact of crime in socio-economic development of Mdantsane township
- Authors: Matyeni, Bukelwa Wendy
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Crime -- Economic aspects -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Criminal behavior , Criminal justice, Administration of -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9204 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020425
- Description: This study examined the impact of crime on socio-economic development in Mdantsane Township which is an urban area under Buffalo city Municipality. The study is concerned with the growing rate of crime, which is perceived to have affected community development. A survey was conducted for this study and questionnaires were administered for data collection. The study found that Mdantsane area is fraught with problems of high unemployment, high crime levels and lack of physical infrastructure. It was shown that the levels of crime like robbery and assault cases are the order of the day. Many crimes are committed either during the day or at night. This study made several recommendations relating to what should be done to ensure that local residents, potential developers and investors feel safe in Mdantsane. Amongst other recommendations put forward are the establishment of community relations with the police, namely community policing forums (CPFs) and development community safety centres.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Matyeni, Bukelwa Wendy
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Crime -- Economic aspects -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Criminal behavior , Criminal justice, Administration of -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9204 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020425
- Description: This study examined the impact of crime on socio-economic development in Mdantsane Township which is an urban area under Buffalo city Municipality. The study is concerned with the growing rate of crime, which is perceived to have affected community development. A survey was conducted for this study and questionnaires were administered for data collection. The study found that Mdantsane area is fraught with problems of high unemployment, high crime levels and lack of physical infrastructure. It was shown that the levels of crime like robbery and assault cases are the order of the day. Many crimes are committed either during the day or at night. This study made several recommendations relating to what should be done to ensure that local residents, potential developers and investors feel safe in Mdantsane. Amongst other recommendations put forward are the establishment of community relations with the police, namely community policing forums (CPFs) and development community safety centres.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Official development assistance (ODA): coordination, management and its impact in the National Department of Science and Technology (DST)
- Authors: Tena, Mokgadi
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Economic sssistance -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9161 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020023
- Description: South Africa (SA) has been a recipient of Official Development Assistance (ODA) prior to the democratic elections in 1994. Even though there has been progress in terms of aligning the ODA to SA government priorities and the good aid management principles, it has been a challenge to trace the amount of the ODA received across government departments and its impact thereon. For various reasons, reporting on the impact of the ODA has been very challenging for most of the departments. Some departments do not use government systems such as the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) account, through which it is required by the Policy Framework and Procedural Guidelines for the Management of ODA that all funds are transferred and channelled. As stipulated in the Policy Framework and Procedural Guidelines for the Management of ODA, the ODA is targeted towards innovation, piloting and value-add, as it only constitutes 1.5 percent of the overall budget of the country. As a result, most government departments utilise ODA as a gap-filler, to pay for unplanned activities that would have otherwise not been budgeted for in the government’s fiscal budget. This leads to departments not reporting as they fear that the ODA will then be withdrawn from them (Policy Guidelines2003). The Department of Science and Technology is one of the South African government departments that received high ODA for the period 2005-2011. The department not only spans across all sectors in terms of research and capacity development, but it has also established strategic international partnerships to collaborate in the research arena. In light of the above, it is interesting to explore how coordination is carried out and what impact if any; 2 the ODA has on the proposed Department of Science and Technology projects. This study explores the Department of Science and Technology, which is a recipient and implementer of ODA, and analyses how they co-ordinate, utilise and report on the ODA. The project that will be analysed is a Sector Budget Support Programme that focuses on poverty alleviation within the capacity development sector.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Tena, Mokgadi
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Economic sssistance -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9161 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020023
- Description: South Africa (SA) has been a recipient of Official Development Assistance (ODA) prior to the democratic elections in 1994. Even though there has been progress in terms of aligning the ODA to SA government priorities and the good aid management principles, it has been a challenge to trace the amount of the ODA received across government departments and its impact thereon. For various reasons, reporting on the impact of the ODA has been very challenging for most of the departments. Some departments do not use government systems such as the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) account, through which it is required by the Policy Framework and Procedural Guidelines for the Management of ODA that all funds are transferred and channelled. As stipulated in the Policy Framework and Procedural Guidelines for the Management of ODA, the ODA is targeted towards innovation, piloting and value-add, as it only constitutes 1.5 percent of the overall budget of the country. As a result, most government departments utilise ODA as a gap-filler, to pay for unplanned activities that would have otherwise not been budgeted for in the government’s fiscal budget. This leads to departments not reporting as they fear that the ODA will then be withdrawn from them (Policy Guidelines2003). The Department of Science and Technology is one of the South African government departments that received high ODA for the period 2005-2011. The department not only spans across all sectors in terms of research and capacity development, but it has also established strategic international partnerships to collaborate in the research arena. In light of the above, it is interesting to explore how coordination is carried out and what impact if any; 2 the ODA has on the proposed Department of Science and Technology projects. This study explores the Department of Science and Technology, which is a recipient and implementer of ODA, and analyses how they co-ordinate, utilise and report on the ODA. The project that will be analysed is a Sector Budget Support Programme that focuses on poverty alleviation within the capacity development sector.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
The term structure of interest rates and economic activity in South Africa
- Authors: Shelile, Teboho
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Finance -- South Africa , Monetary policy -- South Africa , Interest rates -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:994 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002729 , Finance -- South Africa , Monetary policy -- South Africa , Interest rates -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions -- 21st century
- Description: Many research papers have documented the positive relationship between the slope of the yield curve and future real economic activity in different countries and different time periods. One explanation of this link is based on monetary policy. The forecasting ability of the term spread on economic growth is based on the fact that interest rates reflect the expectations of investors about the future economic situation when deciding about their plans for consumption and investment. This thesis examined the predictive ability of the term structure of interest rates on economic activity, and the effects of different monetary policy regimes on the predictive ability of the term spread. The South African experience offers a unique opportunity to examine this issue, as the country has experienced numerous monetary policy frameworks since the 1970s. The study employed the Generalised Method Moments technique, since it is considered to be more efficient than Ordinary Least Squares. Results presented in this thesis established that the term structure successfully predicted real economic activity during the entire research period with the exception of the last sub-period (2000-2004) when using the multivariate model. In the periods of financial market liberalisation and interest rates deregulation the term structure was found to be a better predictor of economic activity in South Africa. These findings emphasise the importance of considering the prevailing economic environment in testing the term structure theory.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007
- Authors: Shelile, Teboho
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Finance -- South Africa , Monetary policy -- South Africa , Interest rates -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:994 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002729 , Finance -- South Africa , Monetary policy -- South Africa , Interest rates -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions -- 21st century
- Description: Many research papers have documented the positive relationship between the slope of the yield curve and future real economic activity in different countries and different time periods. One explanation of this link is based on monetary policy. The forecasting ability of the term spread on economic growth is based on the fact that interest rates reflect the expectations of investors about the future economic situation when deciding about their plans for consumption and investment. This thesis examined the predictive ability of the term structure of interest rates on economic activity, and the effects of different monetary policy regimes on the predictive ability of the term spread. The South African experience offers a unique opportunity to examine this issue, as the country has experienced numerous monetary policy frameworks since the 1970s. The study employed the Generalised Method Moments technique, since it is considered to be more efficient than Ordinary Least Squares. Results presented in this thesis established that the term structure successfully predicted real economic activity during the entire research period with the exception of the last sub-period (2000-2004) when using the multivariate model. In the periods of financial market liberalisation and interest rates deregulation the term structure was found to be a better predictor of economic activity in South Africa. These findings emphasise the importance of considering the prevailing economic environment in testing the term structure theory.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007
Establishing perceptions of an entrepreneur using word associations
- Authors: Goliath, Jasmine Estonia
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Entrepreneurship -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Businesspeople -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:9321 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020785
- Description: Entrepreneurship as a source of economic growth and competitiveness as well as job creation and the advancement of social interests is well documented. Despite these important contributions to the economies of countries, a shortage of entrepreneurial activity exists across borders and specifically in developing countries such as South Africa. The purpose of this study was to determine the perception and image of an entrepreneur in the eyes of various stakeholders. The reasoning behind this was that if the image of an entrepreneur could be determined, one could establish whether the image positively or negatively influences entrepreneurial intentions as well as potential future entrepreneurial activity. More specifically, the primary objective was to identify the perception and image that potential entrepreneurs (students) and existing entrepreneurs (small business owners) have of an entrepreneur. In the body of knowledge or general literature on entrepreneurship, the most commonly discussed topics are the nature and importance of entrepreneurship, the attributes (personality traits, characteristics and skills) associated with an entrepreneur, various push and pull factors, various rewards and drawbacks of such a career and the challenges entrepreneurs face. It is these aspects of entrepreneurship that stakeholders will most likely have been exposed to, and that most possibly have influenced their perception and image of an entrepreneur. The aforementioned aspects provided an overview of the theoretical body of knowledge on which the perception and image of an entrepreneur is based. The present study adopted a qualitative research paradigm with a phenomenological approach to achieve the research objectives of the study. Within this context, the study made use of a qualitative method for data collection and a quantitative method for data analysis. As such, a mixed methods approach was adopted. More specifically, a qualitative dominant mixed research method was implemented. A continuous word association test, which is a projective technique, was adopted as the qualitative means of data collection. This test involved asking participants to recall the words that come to mind when presented with the word “entrepreneur”. This method was selected because of its ability to reveal both affective and cognitive associations with the concept “entrepreneur”. A quantitative summative (manifest) content analysis was used as the quantitative research method for analysing the data. The continuous word association test was conducted among three sample groups, namely students prior to commencing, and students after completing a module in entrepreneurship, and small business owners. Student and small business owner participants were asked to write down as many words or phrases as possible that came to mind when they thought of the word “entrepreneur”, which was the stimulus word, within a ten-minute period. These responses were then collated and coded by developing a coding framework based on brand image and entrepreneurship literature. In studies on brand image, the components of image are considered to be tristructured in nature, consisting of cognitive (what the individual knows), affective (how the individual feels) and holistic (overall symbolism, combination of affective and cognitive) evaluations. The words generated by the participants in this study were broadly coded according to these categories and further subcategorised by searching for themes within the broad categories, which was facilitated and guided by an in-depth investigation of the entrepreneurship literature. The findings of this study show that the words generated by all three groups of participants were mostly of a cognitive nature, followed by words of a general or affective nature. As such, the vast majority of words generated by all three groups related to what the participants knew about an entrepreneur (cognitive) versus how they felt about one (affective), and were grounded in the management or entrepreneurship literature. When comparing the top ten words most frequently associated with the term “entrepreneur” by the three groups of participants, the attribute risk-taker was the most frequently recalled word among all three groups. Students prior to undertaking the entrepreneurship module associated an entrepreneur with being creative and a risk-taker, having a business enterprise and being involved in the selling of goods and services. Students after completing the module in entrepreneurship associated an entrepreneur with being profit-orientated, a risk-taker, innovative and original, and being opportunistic. Small business owners, on the other hand, associated an entrepreneur with being a risk-taker, innovative and original, goal- and achievement-orientated and profit-orientated. The findings show that all groups of participants associated an entrepreneur principally with certain attributes rather than with learned skills and competencies, and that all groups had a more positive than negative image of an entrepreneur. It was also found that exposure to entrepreneurship literature has an influence on the perception and image that students have of an entrepreneur. Because the words recalled by students after completing the entrepreneurship module were more in line with those recalled by small business owners, than with those recalled by students before starting the module, it can be suggested that entrepreneurship literature contributes to a more realistic image of an entrepreneur among students. This study has contributed to the field of entrepreneurship research by adopting a qualitative dominant research paradigm in conjunction with quantitative research methods to explore the complexity of the term “entrepreneur”. Furthermore, this study has been able to establish how individuals feel about entrepreneurship, in terms of being either positive or negative, by adding an affective aspect to the cognitive aspect of entrepreneurial decision-making. By conducting a continuous word association test among students prior to beginning and after completing a module in entrepreneurship, the entrepreneurial knowledge of students before being exposed to entrepreneurship literature was established, and subsequently the effectiveness of the entrepreneurship module determined. It is hoped that the findings of this study have added value to the entrepreneurship body of knowledge and can be used in future studies as a tool to address the problem of low entrepreneurial intention and activity among South Africans. Furthermore, it is hoped that by creating a positive image of an entrepreneur, entrepreneurship as a desirable career choice can be promoted and an entrepreneurial culture developed within communities and broader society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Goliath, Jasmine Estonia
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Entrepreneurship -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Businesspeople -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:9321 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020785
- Description: Entrepreneurship as a source of economic growth and competitiveness as well as job creation and the advancement of social interests is well documented. Despite these important contributions to the economies of countries, a shortage of entrepreneurial activity exists across borders and specifically in developing countries such as South Africa. The purpose of this study was to determine the perception and image of an entrepreneur in the eyes of various stakeholders. The reasoning behind this was that if the image of an entrepreneur could be determined, one could establish whether the image positively or negatively influences entrepreneurial intentions as well as potential future entrepreneurial activity. More specifically, the primary objective was to identify the perception and image that potential entrepreneurs (students) and existing entrepreneurs (small business owners) have of an entrepreneur. In the body of knowledge or general literature on entrepreneurship, the most commonly discussed topics are the nature and importance of entrepreneurship, the attributes (personality traits, characteristics and skills) associated with an entrepreneur, various push and pull factors, various rewards and drawbacks of such a career and the challenges entrepreneurs face. It is these aspects of entrepreneurship that stakeholders will most likely have been exposed to, and that most possibly have influenced their perception and image of an entrepreneur. The aforementioned aspects provided an overview of the theoretical body of knowledge on which the perception and image of an entrepreneur is based. The present study adopted a qualitative research paradigm with a phenomenological approach to achieve the research objectives of the study. Within this context, the study made use of a qualitative method for data collection and a quantitative method for data analysis. As such, a mixed methods approach was adopted. More specifically, a qualitative dominant mixed research method was implemented. A continuous word association test, which is a projective technique, was adopted as the qualitative means of data collection. This test involved asking participants to recall the words that come to mind when presented with the word “entrepreneur”. This method was selected because of its ability to reveal both affective and cognitive associations with the concept “entrepreneur”. A quantitative summative (manifest) content analysis was used as the quantitative research method for analysing the data. The continuous word association test was conducted among three sample groups, namely students prior to commencing, and students after completing a module in entrepreneurship, and small business owners. Student and small business owner participants were asked to write down as many words or phrases as possible that came to mind when they thought of the word “entrepreneur”, which was the stimulus word, within a ten-minute period. These responses were then collated and coded by developing a coding framework based on brand image and entrepreneurship literature. In studies on brand image, the components of image are considered to be tristructured in nature, consisting of cognitive (what the individual knows), affective (how the individual feels) and holistic (overall symbolism, combination of affective and cognitive) evaluations. The words generated by the participants in this study were broadly coded according to these categories and further subcategorised by searching for themes within the broad categories, which was facilitated and guided by an in-depth investigation of the entrepreneurship literature. The findings of this study show that the words generated by all three groups of participants were mostly of a cognitive nature, followed by words of a general or affective nature. As such, the vast majority of words generated by all three groups related to what the participants knew about an entrepreneur (cognitive) versus how they felt about one (affective), and were grounded in the management or entrepreneurship literature. When comparing the top ten words most frequently associated with the term “entrepreneur” by the three groups of participants, the attribute risk-taker was the most frequently recalled word among all three groups. Students prior to undertaking the entrepreneurship module associated an entrepreneur with being creative and a risk-taker, having a business enterprise and being involved in the selling of goods and services. Students after completing the module in entrepreneurship associated an entrepreneur with being profit-orientated, a risk-taker, innovative and original, and being opportunistic. Small business owners, on the other hand, associated an entrepreneur with being a risk-taker, innovative and original, goal- and achievement-orientated and profit-orientated. The findings show that all groups of participants associated an entrepreneur principally with certain attributes rather than with learned skills and competencies, and that all groups had a more positive than negative image of an entrepreneur. It was also found that exposure to entrepreneurship literature has an influence on the perception and image that students have of an entrepreneur. Because the words recalled by students after completing the entrepreneurship module were more in line with those recalled by small business owners, than with those recalled by students before starting the module, it can be suggested that entrepreneurship literature contributes to a more realistic image of an entrepreneur among students. This study has contributed to the field of entrepreneurship research by adopting a qualitative dominant research paradigm in conjunction with quantitative research methods to explore the complexity of the term “entrepreneur”. Furthermore, this study has been able to establish how individuals feel about entrepreneurship, in terms of being either positive or negative, by adding an affective aspect to the cognitive aspect of entrepreneurial decision-making. By conducting a continuous word association test among students prior to beginning and after completing a module in entrepreneurship, the entrepreneurial knowledge of students before being exposed to entrepreneurship literature was established, and subsequently the effectiveness of the entrepreneurship module determined. It is hoped that the findings of this study have added value to the entrepreneurship body of knowledge and can be used in future studies as a tool to address the problem of low entrepreneurial intention and activity among South Africans. Furthermore, it is hoped that by creating a positive image of an entrepreneur, entrepreneurship as a desirable career choice can be promoted and an entrepreneurial culture developed within communities and broader society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Assessing BEE policy's viability in advancing establishment and survival of SMMes in South Africa
- Authors: Waithaka, Stephen Kiumi
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Small business -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/4376 , vital:20591
- Description: Black Economic Empowerment is an ideology and policy that was effected so as to streamline the inequalities that were and have been left to stand after the apartheid era in South Africa. Despite the mixed reactions that would surface as a result of the underpinnings of the policy, the main focus of the policy was and still is to provide for equality and build better business among the economic minority who in this case are the “black” people of South Africa. This report focuses on the policy and the different guidelines that have been set in place to counter the inequalities in businesses and economy with focus being on SMMEs and looking at ways in which various sections, especially the score card, with regard to exemptions to small businesses, how this aids them in achieving BEE compliance. The research accomplished this by looking at the requirements of the score card, focusing mainly on the stipulations placed on SMMEs and by the use of literary reports gathered information that would show whether the exemptions give the said enterprises added competitive advantage. The research produced a couple of findings; that although theoretically the necessity of boosting economic growth and business of one of the most productive enterprise sectors in an economy and the fact that the score card has focused infinitely on the need for SMMEs not to be fully focused on a specific cluster of criterion in the score card but more on which criterion would work best for them and which ones are easy to maneuver around to ensure maximum growth and contribution, there is the loop hole that is experienced of how this criterion is met and passed with disregard to actualization of the need to adhere to the strictness of the rules of how compliance is attained. There was also the main issue of fronting which is the falsification of ownership of a company by providing misleading information about the directors and owners of the business. The main conclusions drawn from this research are that it is important not to lose the foresight that the policy is meant to enhance and grow the economic ability of a sector and build business through which the policy makes very heavy recommendations but there are shortfalls experienced with regard to how compliance is approached putting into consideration that SMMEs have been given exemptions in the number of pillars of the score card they can apply to their business. It is also important to note that the influence and bulldozing that is expected when it comes to dealing with policies of this nature is not to be sidelined. This research aims to look at the discrepancies that are set out within the structures that hold the policy together so as to attain maximum results.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Waithaka, Stephen Kiumi
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Small business -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/4376 , vital:20591
- Description: Black Economic Empowerment is an ideology and policy that was effected so as to streamline the inequalities that were and have been left to stand after the apartheid era in South Africa. Despite the mixed reactions that would surface as a result of the underpinnings of the policy, the main focus of the policy was and still is to provide for equality and build better business among the economic minority who in this case are the “black” people of South Africa. This report focuses on the policy and the different guidelines that have been set in place to counter the inequalities in businesses and economy with focus being on SMMEs and looking at ways in which various sections, especially the score card, with regard to exemptions to small businesses, how this aids them in achieving BEE compliance. The research accomplished this by looking at the requirements of the score card, focusing mainly on the stipulations placed on SMMEs and by the use of literary reports gathered information that would show whether the exemptions give the said enterprises added competitive advantage. The research produced a couple of findings; that although theoretically the necessity of boosting economic growth and business of one of the most productive enterprise sectors in an economy and the fact that the score card has focused infinitely on the need for SMMEs not to be fully focused on a specific cluster of criterion in the score card but more on which criterion would work best for them and which ones are easy to maneuver around to ensure maximum growth and contribution, there is the loop hole that is experienced of how this criterion is met and passed with disregard to actualization of the need to adhere to the strictness of the rules of how compliance is attained. There was also the main issue of fronting which is the falsification of ownership of a company by providing misleading information about the directors and owners of the business. The main conclusions drawn from this research are that it is important not to lose the foresight that the policy is meant to enhance and grow the economic ability of a sector and build business through which the policy makes very heavy recommendations but there are shortfalls experienced with regard to how compliance is approached putting into consideration that SMMEs have been given exemptions in the number of pillars of the score card they can apply to their business. It is also important to note that the influence and bulldozing that is expected when it comes to dealing with policies of this nature is not to be sidelined. This research aims to look at the discrepancies that are set out within the structures that hold the policy together so as to attain maximum results.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011