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Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study analyses the implications of financial liberalisation programme for international remittance inflows with regard to the macroeconomic determinants and also the implications of remittances for economic growth and development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) between 1980 and 2009. The methodological approach to the analytical framework of this study is based on the hypothesis that financial liberalisation causes higher inflows of international migrant remittances through official channels to augment the scarce domestic financial resources, and to stimulate economic growth for sustainable development in capital-constrained SSA. Prior to the macroeconometric analyses, the study addressed definitional and measurement issues on international remittances and financial liberalisation, and provided an overview of the macroeconomic policy environment in post-independent SSA, as well as the magnitude and the trends in remittances received by SSA relative to other developing economies. First, the system Generalised Method of Moment (GMM) for dynamic panel-data estimation was used to determine the macroeconomic factors responsible for the changing trends in remittance inflows. Then an inquiry into the impact and causal effects of financial liberalisation on international remittance inflows in SSA following the static panel-data modelling and panel Granger non-causality estimation procedures was undertaken. Following this, the system GMM was further employed to examine the impact of remittances on long-run economic growth, and the effects of remittance inflows on economic development in SSA. Essentially, the economic development indicators considered in this study are poverty, income inequality, labour market outcomes, human capital development, and financial development. It is revealed in this study that the most appropriate measure of international migrant remittances is the sum of “workers‟ remittances” and “compensation of employees” excluding “migrant transfers”. Using remittances per capita, which the study found to be the best proxy for remittances per migrant rather than the commonly used remittances as a percentage of GDP, it is shown that SSA is the least recipient of official migrant remittances in the world, with no SSA country receiving remittances worth US$1 per day. This study further establishes that the macroeconomic factors that influence remittance inflows in SSA have varying rather than static impact in response to changing macroeconomic policy environment. Also, macroeconomic factors have different influences on attracting remittances from abroad in relation to migrant duration status – permanent or temporary. Although financial liberalisation Granger-causes international remittances, not sufficient evidence exists that a significant proportion of the official remittances received in SSA passes through the banking system. Besides, the extent to which financial liberalisation can Granger-cause and/or positively impact on international remittance inflows in SSA is directly and ultimately conditional to the macroeconomic fundamentals of the remittance-receiving SSA country. It was also found out that generally, international migrant remittances propel higher economic growth in SSA, with greater impact on SSA countries with relatively higher growth rates. International remittance inflows have significant positive developmental impact, with no sufficient evidence of moral hazard effects. Overall, international remittances contribute to reducing poverty and unemployment but not necessarily income inequality and, at worse, remittances have no significant impact on labour productivity and participation in SSA. Higher remittance inflows promote human welfare, educational attainment, life expectancy, and financial development in SSA. With the exception of educational attainment, the developmental effects of remittances vary across countries, depending upon the level of economic development.

Thesis (MComm (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: “Africa’s not for sissies” is what one often hears when discussing business conditions in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). For purposes of this study, the relatively well-developed country of South Africa has been excluded from the definition of SSA. The region boasts some of the lowest human development index scores and economic growth levels in the world, while enjoying the unenviable reputation as one of the most corrupt places on earth. The fact that SSA fares poorest of all when it comes to attracting foreign direct investment (barely 1% of global inflows), is due to foreign investor perceptions of unacceptable levels of country risk that keep them from investing in the region. Reasons for SSA’s malaise are instructive as context for the status quo and include the aftermath of colonialism, continued flare-ups of ethnic-induced civil unrest, the lingering effects of a disastrous flirtation with socialism and a recent generation of corrupt and incompetent leaders. However, the good news is that the new millennium increasingly exhibits significant trends in support of the notion that a reversal of SSA’s fortunes is underway: annual GDP growth in the region is well ahead of the global average, civil wars in the region have largely come to an end and, for two years running, private equity investment flows into the region have surpassed that of foreign aid, Africa’s traditional ‘crutch’. Importantly, a small band of early-mover Multinational Corporations (MNCs) are making their presence felt in the region and beginning to make good profits. These firms include the likes of Diageo, The Coca-Cola Company, MTN and SABMiller. Still, today’s business environment in the small, impoverished markets of SSA remains extremely challenging, characterised by poor infrastructure and skills, coupled to an unhelpful officialdom. The purpose of this study is to research the impediments to investing in SSA, both real and imagined, and then to discuss ways of overcoming these. By applying a qualitative research methodology, including the use of case studies and structured interviews with selected executives of the MNCs active in the region, key success factors for investing and operating in the region will be identified and explained. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Enigeen wat ‘n besigheid in Afrika bedryf is dit eens dat ‘n mens hare op jou tande nodig het om hier sukses te behaal as gevolg van die aansienlike aantal struikelblokke wat ‘n mens te wagte moet wees. Hierdie studie is gemik op die onontwikkelde Afrika lande, suid van die Sahara woestyn (ASS). Suid Afrika word vir doeleindes van hierdie studie uitgesluit uit die definisie van ASS, weens die land se relatiewe gevorderde besigheidsklimaat. Ongelukkig word die lande van die ASS streek oorwegend gekenmerk deur lae peile van ontwikkeling, asook lae ekonomiese groeikoerse. Die streek word boonop beskou as die mees korrupte plek op aarde. Dit is dus geen wonder nie dat ASS die slegste van alle streke vaar wanneer dit by besteding deur buitelandse beleggers kom nie – laasgenoemde glo eenvoudig dat die gepaardgaande risiko verbonde aan die maak van ‘n belegging in die streek onaanvaarbaar hoog is. Sommige van die redes wat aanleiding gee tot hierdie teleurstellende toedrag van sake is insiggewend as konteks vir hierdie studie, insluitend: die nagevolge van die era van kolonialisme, sporadiese uitbarstings van etniese geweld, die negatiewe gevolge veroorsaak deur die onlangse beheptheid met sosialisme onder baie van die streek se lande, asook die uitwerking van uiters swak leierskap in die streek gedurende die tweede helfte van die 20ste eeu. Die keersy van hierdie swak beeld is dat ‘n aansienlike verbetering in toestande te bespeur is sedert die aanvang van die 21ste eeu. Die Bruto Nasionale Produk van ASS lande groei nou vinniger as dié van enige ander streek op aarde. Die voorkoms van burgerlike onrus en geweld in die streek toon ‘n beduidende afname. Vir die eerste keer ooit is die waarde van buitelandse beleggings in ASS groter as die waarde van hulp en ondersteuning wat die streek van die buiteland ontvang (en waarop die regerings van die streek tradisioneel staatgemaak het om basiese dienste aan hul inwoners te verskaf). Dit is ook verblydend om te verneem dat ‘n klein groepie ywerige internasionale maatskappye besig is om hulself toenemend in die gebied te vestig en dat hulle goed geldmaak daaruit. Voorbeelde van suksesvolle maatskappye sluit Diageo, Coca-Cola, MTN en SABMiller in. Nogtans bly die besigheidstoestande waarin maatskappye hulle bevind ongunstig in die brandarm markte van ‘n streek wat verder gekenmerk word deur gebrekkige infrastruktuur, onvoldoende vaardighede en onbehulpsame amptenare. Die doel van die navorsing is eerstens om die daadwerklike toedrag van sake vas te stel i.v.m. die omgewingsfaktore wat verhinder dat maatskappye vrylik hul doelstellinge in ASS mag najaag. Daarna word die fokus verskuif sodat oplossings geformuleer mag word ten einde hierdie struikelblokke uit die weg te ruim. ‘n Kwalitatiewe navorsingsmetode word nagevolg. Dit sluit die gebruik van gevallestudies en gestruktureerde onderhoude met senior verteenwoordigers van internasionale maatskappye met filiale in ASS in. Die vernaamste uitslag van die navorsing is die daarstelling en verduideliking van ‘n stel kritieke suksesfaktore wat as handleiding mag dien aan diegene wat besighede in die streek bedryf.

This study focuses on economic development and political turmoil in post-independence Sub-Saharan Africa. There has been a resurgence of interest in the region following the end of the Cold War. In 1997 U.S. president Bill Clinton took a 12-day tour of the region. In 1999 the U.S. Congress (106th Congress) passed the Growth and Opportunity Act and the Hope for Africa Act, designed to encourage political stability and economic development in the region. Although most Sub-Saharan African countries attained independence from colonial rule in the 1960s, more than 30 years of self-government have brought little economic development and political stability to the region. This study attempts to analyze, theoretically and empirically, the relationship among economic development, social dislocation and political turmoil. Social dislocation, as defined in this study, means "urbanization," and it is used as an exogenous variable to model and test the hypothesized causal relationship between economic development and political turmoil. This study employs pooled cross-sectional time-series and seemingly unrelated regression analyses, as well as Granger-causality, to examine the hypothesized relationships and causality in 24 Sub-Saharan African countries from 1971 to 1995. The results confirm the classical economic development theory's argument that an increase in economic development leads to a decrease in political turmoil. The result of the pooled analysis is confirmed by a SUR analysis on the strength of the relationship at the individual country level in 21 of the 24 countries. However, an indirect positive relationship exist between economic development and political turmoil through social dislocation. At lag periods 1 and 2, I found a causal ordering leading from economic development to political turmoil, indicating a causal relationship from economic development to social dislocation and from social dislocation to political turmoil.

The current scholarly literature on the international mediation of armed conflicts predominantly draws on a rationalist-materialist perspective. This perspective suggests that the ticket to mediation success is the material manipulation of the bargaining environment by third parties with a high degree of economic and military resources. In this dissertation I argue against those that highlight material power when explaining outcomes of international mediation processes. Indeed, this dissertation shows that legitimacy, far more than capacity, determines outcomes of mediation. The reason why legitimacy matters so much is that if a mediator has legitimacy, it can continue to look for a mutual satisfactory outcome and try to pull the conflict parties towards compliance, but if a mediator loses legitimacy, no amount of material resources will prove sufficient in mediating the conflict. In other words, material capacity in the form of economic and military resources may be useful to successfully mediate a conflict, but it is rarely sufficient. Through scrutinising international mediation processes in civil wars in Africa, I develop a theory that explains how mediators are effective because of a high degree of legitimacy rather than military or economic capacity. More specifically, I show how legitimacy matters through comparing the effectiveness of African and non-African third parties. African third parties are typically referred to as ineffective because of a low degree of economic and military capacity. However, African third parties are effective in mediating civil wars in Africa because of a high degree of legitimacy, which is a result of a strong conviction within the African society of states that African mediation is the most desirable type of mediation in conflicts in Africa. Drawing on data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program supplemented with unique data, which together cover all mediation efforts in Africa between 1960 and 2012, I find quantitative evidence supporting the effectiveness of African third parties. Compared to non-African third parties, African third parties are far more likely to conclude peace agreements and these peace agreements are more likely to be durable. Two case studies, in which several mediation efforts in civil wars in Sudan are examined, further probe the causal mechanisms that I put forward to explain the effectiveness of African mediation. While I do not claim causal generalisability on the basis of these two case studies, the mediation efforts in Sudan nevertheless suggest that third party legitimacy is central to mediation success. This is the first systematic study that compares African and non-African mediation efforts. Theoretically, this study deviates from much of the literature that solely puts forward rationalist-materialist explanations of mediation success. By bringing legitimacy to the forefront, this dissertation overcomes key limitations in the current mediation literature, in which material sources of power are emphasised and social structures are ignored.

Study project (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The African Growth and Opportunity Act was signed into law in May 2000 to allow qualifying SSA countries to export eligible products duty free to the US. The act is a non-reciprocal "agreement" designed solely by the US, with the objective of promoting increased trade and investment between the US and SSA. The US insist that trade will lead to development on the African continent if SSA countries liberalise their markets and become integrated into the global economy. The theory behind trade liberalisation is that it promotes allocative efficiency by exploiting comparative advantage. I however argue that trade liberalisation can realise its potential only if the US start dismantling the protectionist barriers that have been described in this report. The AGOA does reduce tariff barriers for a number of African products. However new non-tariff barriers have been erected which are less transparent, but just as effective as tariff barriers. The report documents the significance of existing trade barriers that seek to protect the US industries from harm, and evaluates the problems that are created in spite of the intentions of the AGOA. A number of specific issues that will be significant for the future outcomes of the Act were also dealt with. These included: the anti-dumping steel duties, US Farm Bill, NEPAD and the textiles and apparel debate. The problems found with the AGOA included: • Protectionism that is sector specific, involving the cases of the antidumping steel duties and the Farm Bill. • The unfavourable terms of trade associated with the Act, caused by the non-negotiable, non-reciprocal and temporary nature of the AGOA. • The eligibility conditions of the Act, which serve to bind African countries to the rules of the World Trade Organisation and exclude some countries on the African continent from obtaining benefits. • Internal reform problems within the SSA countries involving government departments, infrastructure and the macroeconomic environment. The evidence over the short time since it was enacted reveals that the SSA countries will not gain much from the extended trade benefits of the AGOA, unless their capacity to produce and supply the US market is enhanced. Furthermore, most of the AGOA benefits have gone to oil exporting countries and SA, who is the only non-oil country benefiting from a number of sectors at present. The Act has failed to increase trade flows from eligible countries to the US, as most of the SSA countries are not at the economic development to take advantage of the preferences that have been provided under the AGOA. Furthermore the liberalisation of many of the African economies has not been reciprocated by the US. The actions of many interest groups in the US indicate that they are "yes" to free trade but "not" at the expense of jobs and profits. This is evident, as the AGOA provides no exceptions to any of the US retaliatory measures and the fact that interest groups in the US influence many of the product decisions when domestic market share is threatened. One of the positive outcomes of the AGOA is the joint US Africa Trade and Economic Co-operation Forum that will provide future avenues for beneficial US-Africa trade relations. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: geen opsomming

M.Com. (Economics) / This study investigates the effects of governance on both economic growth and human development. In particular, it investigates the effects of various dimensions of governance, namely, political stability and absence of violence, government effectiveness, rule of law, regulatory quality, control of corruption and voice and accountability on economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and also investigates the effects of these aspects of governance on human development in SSA. Over the last two decades, researchers have investigated the relationship between governance and development. Aid to developing countries, especially in a region such as SSA, has been premised on showing improvement in governance. However, the seemingly well-understood notion of governance is exceedingly ambiguous and inconsistent, and the empirical relationship between governance and development is being disputed and challenged. The inability of growth indicators to explain variation in political, institutional, and social dimensions of the development process motivates this analysis of governance on economic growth as well as a measure of broader development: the Human Development Index (HDI). Furthermore, in an effort to determine if various dimensions of governance have different effects on social aspects of development, the study disaggregates the HDI into its components of life expectancy at birth and education. This study examines countries in SSA based on a cross-section of averaged data over the period 1999-2008 and annual panel data over the period 1996-2008, including pooled ordinary least square (OLS), fixed effects and system general method of moments (GMM) techniques. In the economic growth analysis using the system GMM estimation, we find that none of the different individual dimensions of governance or the overall governance indicator has a statistically significant impact on growth of GDP per capita of SSA countries. This finding is robust when regional effects and changes in the estimation methodology are included. In the human development analysis using the system GMM estimation, we find strong evidence to suggest that different individual dimensions of governance and the averaged governance indicators are a fundamental factor in explaining the development level of SSA countries. It appears that for the period of 1996-2008, all individual different dimensions of governance are positively and significantly related to HDI. When we disaggregate HDI into its separate non-income components, life expectancy at birth and education, we find sufficient evidence to indicate that different individual dimensions of governance and the averaged governance indicators do have effects on specified social indicators. This finding is robust when regional effects and changes in the estimation methodology are included.

Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Finance & Investment in the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management Wits Business School at the University of the Witwatersrand 2017 / There are 29 formal stock exchanges on the African continent with 23 based in sub-Saharan Africa. The pace and stage of stock market development has varied among most of the countries as only four stock markets have more than 50 listed stocks; five have at least 20 listed stocks; and the remaining 14 have less than 20 stocks. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) stands out in Africa as by far the continent’s largest, most liquid and best regulated market and is home to some of the continent’s largest and most sophisticated companies. Cross listing refers to the listing of ordinary shares of a firm on an exchange other than the stock exchange in its registered jurisdiction. There are 24 JSE listed companies that have cross listed on other Sub-Saharan African stock exchanges. The bulk of these, (14), have cross listed on the Namibia Stock Exchange, 3 cross listed on Botswana Stock Exchange, 1 on the Nairobi Stock Exchange, 1 on the Ghanaian Stock Exchange, 3 on the Malawian Stock Exchange, 1 on the Zambian Stock Exchange and 1 on the Zimbabwean Stock Exchange. The study establishes the possible reasons and benefits of cross listing on other sub-Saharan exchanges for JSE listed companies. The study also provides insight into the possible effects, (financial as well as any others), of cross listing on other sub-Saharan African exchanges that a number of JSE listed entities have experienced. The study uses financial information collected from a public platform, (Sharedata), to compute financial ratio’s to determine the financial implications of the JSE companies cross listing on other sub-Saharan exchanges. The effects of cross listing on the JSE companies are then measured using latent growth curve modelling and a paired t test. The study concludes that there is no evidence to suggest that there are financial benefits for JSE listed companies to cross list on other sub-Saharan exchanges. The study further suggests that JSE listed companies should rather consider cross listing for qualitative reasons rather for any quantitative reasons. / MT2017

Bibliography: leaves 103-113. Uses GIS to map the pattern of widespread transmission, commercial sex workers, poverty prevalence, illiteracy rate, population displacement and other social indicators to show the vulnerability of the region's population; and to demonstrate that there is no single point of radiation of HIV/AIDS in the sub region. Discusses mitigation and prevention strategies and proposes the use of GIS be incorporated in the fight against HIV/AIDS in sub Saharan Africa.

Thesis (M.A.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 143-147).