This study analyses whether the advent of strike action has an effect on the value and volatility of the South African Rand compared with the US Dollar. The literature suggests that strike action can have a significant effect on the exchange rate in terms of either value or volatility, and consequences can result that cause inefficiencies in the economy; inhibiting employment and economic growth. Strike action has become common place in South Africa, with 2012 alone recording 99 strikes, 45 of which were “wildcat” or unprotected strikes. This study uses GARCH and Intervention Analyses to determine what the resulting effects of the strikes might be on the exchange rate. The analysis used ZAR/USD exchange rate data for the period January 2000 to October 2013, and covered 72 of the most significant strikes in terms of lost man-days. The results are mixed, suggesting that the effects of strikes do not always conform to expectations (increased volatility and a depreciation in the Rand), and that outside factors affecting the global economy may have a more significant effect on the exchange rate than strikes on their own.

Economic development remains elusive for many world economies, but especially those of African countries. The current global inequalities in terms of GNP per capita and human living standards between developed and developing nations have ensured that the challenges of food insecurities are only some of the many negative experiences of underdevelopment in the African continent. Hence, delivery pressures are increasing on policy makers and researchers to provide tangible and timely economic solutions to the resilient state of underdevelopment. In the policy fights against the challenges posed by a lack of development in South Africa, the agricultural sector has in the past and continues in the present to play a central role. Such is the case because the majority of citizens rely on agricultural production activities for their livelihoods. For instance, even though the sector only contributed four percent towards the national Gross Domestic Product in 2006, in the Eastern Cape Province, more than seventy percent of the total population resided in rural areas. Moreover, in 2004 more than sixty percent of the national formal and informal employment levels were found in the sector. These economic indicators do not only reinforce the assertions that high levels of geographical and sectoral inequalities exist in the country’s economy, but they also illustrate the importance of the agricultural sector in public policy attempts, which are aimed at achieving food security alongside long-term developmental objectives. Some economists, especially the proponents of institutionalism, have argued that most of the recommendations to public policy interventions from mainstream economic research endeavours are not adequately helpful. The recommendations generally lack well considered and socially effective ideas, mainly because there remains some level of ignorance about the impacts that institutions have on economic and social systems. Some argue that this ignorance is reflected in (flawed) hedonistic and rationalist assumptions made about economic actors and in the methodological thinking of many research designs and economic analyses. The misuse of formal tools and statistical methods, for example, are some of the important factors, which have led to failures of the discipline of economics to provide effective policy solutions to problems of underdevelopment and poverty, especially in poor country environments. The thesis, having taken account of the majority of criticisms levelled against the classical and new-classical economic schools of thought, argues that the discipline as a whole lacks a paradigmatic integration of institutional and new-classical economic perspectives to offer appropriate guidelines for a methodology aimed at achieving socially responsive research outputs. The lack of this integration has resulted in a skewed selection of methods by economists, which are employed in research without a supportive and in-depth understanding of institutional and social factors. To support the thesis, a more effective and integrated framework for economic research is developed and presented with case study illustrations in a cumulative manner. The 20th century history of agricultural policies in South Africa, the agricultural and institutional case studies from the Eastern Cape Province alongside reviews of other agricultural studies are all used in presenting a case for rigorous institutional investigations in general economic research. These are also used in developing the proposed integrated framework, which aims to give guidance in developing research methods, which are more socially responsive. Having shown the usefulness of the proposed research framework, the thesis recommends that public policy interventions (at national and local levels) should aim to eliminate all types of institutions which have high associated transactional costs. The interventions should also encourage the emergence and growth of the types of institutions, which present the lowest costs to initiatives of economic development. In the primary case studies from the Eastern Cape Province, the insecurity of land tenure and the various local initiatives of business ventures are highlighted as two examples of the types of institutions, which respectively present high and low transactional costs to local initiatives of agricultural and economic development.

From introduction: This is a study of Indian family businesses in the central business district of Durban, a sea port on the coast of Natal, in South Africa.

The purpose of this thesis was to develop a method by which economic value can be imputed from an economic activity to a non-market ecological function or service which contributes to that economic activity. The Knysna River in South Africa was chosen as the ecological function which supported three economic activities from which value was to be imputed; these were the Knysna Municipal Water Supply, Fish Production in the Knysna Estuary and Production of Indigenous Forest within the Knysna Catchment. Three underlying assumptions and two functional operations were required in order to implement the suggested method. The underlying assumptions were: - The ecological and economic activities considered are within a single catchment. - The allocation of value imputed for a specific economic activity to the ecological function or service under consideration (in this case the Knysna River) is proportional to the total contribution of ecological functions or services contributed to the economic activity. - The valuation of the economic activity for the purposes of obtaining a price-quantity point on a demand function is to be full cost pricing with no producer surplus. The two functional requirements were: - Diagram or map the linkages between an economic activity and the supporting ecological functions. - Determine the consumer surplus related to an incremental change in quantity under a demand function where the original price and quantity are known. A value from each of the economic activities was imputed to the Knysna River. However, the method was not tested. Nonetheless applying the equations and collecting the required data allowed several methodological needs to be clearly pointed out. The most acute deficiency was difficulty in obtaining secondary data from governmental agencies, commercial representatives and existing published academic research to ensure a robust price. Also, scientific information was not sufficiently available for allocating ecological contributions to the economic activities. Even with the shortage of credible data the method appears to allow non-market ecological functions to be valued in context of an existing economic system.

The enormous social, economic, and political government-led societal transformation South Africans have experienced over the past 15 years have brought about numerous societal and identity changes. The aim of the present study was to explore how dominant (White participants) and non-dominant (Black participants) groups experiencing the government-led societal transformation process deal with perceptions of intergroup differences based on Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979, 1986) and related field research. Social Identity Theory predicts that in the presence of intergroup differences group members irrespective of their status position will apply identity management strategies to either improve or maintain their status position. The relationships between perceptions of intergroup relations and identity management strategies as proposed by Social Identity Theory were tested studying 170 second year Rhodes University psychology students. Sixty participants indicated themselves as Black South Africans (representing non-dominant group) and 110 participants identified themselves as White South Africans (dominant group). The results revealed that dominant and non-dominant groups differ systematically regarding the functional interaction between beliefs about the intergroup situation and identity management strategies. The results of the study indicate too, that ingroup identification differentiates between individual and collective strategies irrespective of the group’s status position.

Amartya Sen argued that poverty was the “deprivation” of the capability to lead a “good life”, therefore ending poverty meant meeting basic physical and social needs, and enabling meaningful economic and political choices. The principal objective of this research was to investigate whether (and if so, in what ways) post-apartheid state-provided non-contributory cash social grants in South Africa reduced “poverty” in Sen’s sense. This thesis used Ezibeleni, a historically black working class township at Queenstown, in the Eastern Cape, as a reference area. Using in-depth interviews, it found that social grants did help reduce poverty, both in terms of helping meet basic needs and enabling grant recipients to make more choices, including facilitating job searches and small businesses. However, it was also found that grants fall short of ending poverty, as the grants were too small to adequately cover basic needs in the context of large family sizes, a serious and long-term lack of resources, persistent unemployment, and high indebtedness, and could also enable only a limited expansion of choices. The grants played a positive role, but were inadequate to remove the “unfreedoms” facing the poor.

M.A. (Development Studies) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The Elective Conference of the African National Congress (ANC) of 2007 that took place in Polokwane remains an important event since 1994 (Fikeni 2009). The economic policy of the ANC and candidature of Mbeki and Zuma for the presidency contributed to the growing of factionalism in the ruling party that culminated in the 2007 conference. The study investigates and analyses the development of factions and ideological contestations that seemed to punctuate the ANC towards its 2007 National Congress that took place in Polokwane. It examines the roots and causes of factionalism in the ANC with a specific focus on the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM). It also investigates the extent to which the conservative policies such as Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) contributed in the divisions and factionalism prior the 2007 polokwane conference. The study departs from the premise that history of the ANC is riddled with factionalism and ideological contestations that have been well documented. Furthermore, the political infighting within the ANC impacts on governance structures and the local government level. The study seeks to demonstrate the effects of the 2007 power contestations between Zuma and Mbeki on the NMBM. To this effect, the study demonstrates how the leadership contestations in the ruling party impacted on the service delivery in the city. For the purposes of analyzing and making sense of the nature of power plays within the ANC it draws from the theories of factionalism to illustrate that the link between the growing of factionalism and the one party dominant system.

Poverty is one of the social problems plaguing South Africa. In South Africa it is required of municipalities as entities in the socio-economic and political transformation process and agents of change, to eradicate poverty and unemployment by facilitating local economic development in their respective areas. Local economic development has to be implemented in a way that takes cognisance of the different challenges that exist within various areas and contexts. Various district and local municipalities have initiated an array of agricultural programs such as community or food gardens as aspect of their Local Economic Development strategies. In this study I investigated the sustainability of community gardens as a mechanism to poverty alleviation in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. The study focused exclusively on community gardens in Bloemendal, KwaZakhele, Motherwell and Walmer. A mixed methods research approach was employed to gather data from the community garden members and municipal official who administers the community gardens. Semi-structured interview was conducted with the municipal official administering community gardens in Nelson Mandela Bay. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data from the community garden members. Observations were made on types of crops grown in the gardens, in order to supplement and validate data collected and information gathered during interviews. Community garden members identified funding as their main challenge. Community gardens have a potential to be sustainable if the requisite support structures that need to exist to support the micro-farmers are in place.

The aim of this research was to provide a preliminary investigation of how the HIV and AIDS epidemic will impact on management of municipalities, specifically George Municipality. Municipalities provide a large proportion of essential basic services and also represent one of the primary opportunities for public participation and decision-making at a community level. This paper takes George Municipality in the Western Cape as a case study of the current and potential impact of HIV and AIDS on public demand for services and on the municipality's capacity to govern and provide services. It also reviews the responses of the municipality to HIV and AIDS.The research was conducted using a questionnaire which was distributed to municipal officials in the different departments but also included a review of relevant literature and analysis of quantitative data. The study focused on a single case: An investigation into the impact of HIV and AIDS on municipal management of George Municipality. The study identified strategies utilised by the municipality to reduce the impact of HIV and AIDS. The study drew on people's experiences, perceptions and interpretations of the impact of HIV and AIDS on municipal management, responses and any other related factors that may have impeded the realisation of the reduction of the impact of HIV and AIDS on municipal management in the George Municipality.Fifty questionnaires were distributed, 40 copies by hand delivery and ten copies via e-mail to employees ranging from general worker to senior management. Employees participated in the study through interviews and answering of the questionnaires. An internet search was also conducted using Wed Crawler and by visiting the official website of the George Municipality for all policies, minutes, reports and all other relevant documents regarding HIV and AIDS. The researcher also drew on personal observations because she has been in George for almost six years and is also employed by George Municipality. Participants who were selected by the researcher for interviews purposes were five councillors and five ward committee members because councillors are decision makers in the municipality. The rest were given questionnaires to complete. Data was analysed by using interpretation analysis, namely codes to explain data collected. Results were presented in the form of tables and conclusions warranted by the data are presented. Statistical analysis was done to check correlation between the different aspects in the questionnaire. According to the research findings it can be confirmed that more of the budget needs to be allocated for employment of suitably qualified persons like occupational nurses, who will drive HIV and AIDS education and awareness campaigns. HIV and AIDS mainstreaming should be regarded as a priority in order make people aware about the realities of HIV and AIDS in communities. Leadership and management buy-in should be obtained to win the fight against the epidemic. A comprehensive strategy should be compiled and implemented to reduce the spread and stigma of HIV and AIDS. Proper planning should be done for compiling the strategy. This strategy should specify the budget for HIV and AIDS and how HIV and AIDS is going to be integrated into an IDP. Prevention and management strategies used by the organisation should be explained.