Since the initial research was begun on this dissertation, the role of intervention by the State in the economic affairs of a country has assumed renewed topicality. While much of the impetus for this interest in the subject can be related to the bicentennial anniversary of the appearance of 'The Wealth of Nations', the emergence of certain political and economic problems in the South African context has been responsible for the increased controversy in this country. While recognising that che field of state intervention in the South African economy is so widespread and its effects, in many cases, so indirect that detailed and objective analysis of every avenue of intervention is impossible within the confines of the present study, the researcher has attempted to analyse the effects of the State's policy of intervention (in the form of industrial protection) on industrial growth in South Africa. This has been done m an endeavour to relate how some of the current economic problems faced by the country can possibly be attributed to such policy. The method involved in the study consists initially of an attempt to justify economic intervention by the State. Applying this rationale to the policy of industrial protection in South Africa after the first quarter of this century, the conclusion that emerges, is that, although much of the initial arguments for protection were clouded by political considerations, there were several Important economic arguments for Industrial diversification that warranted the State protecting certain industries, It appears highly unlikely that secondary Industry in South Africa would have grown to the extent that it did, after the first quarter of this century, in the Absence of che tariff and other protective policies followed by the State, Similarly, it can be argued, that many of the problems that recently have manifested themselves would not have occurred were it not for the persistence and continuation of such policies beyond the initial period. Growth in secondary industry continued on a rapid basis until the nineteen sixties after which there was a levelling off and the economy began to suffer severe unemployment problems coupled with persistent deficits in the current account of the balance of payments. The study attempts to analyse these problems according to the type of protective policies pursued by the State during this period. The pattern of tariff protection in South Africa is analysed both on a historical basis, (according to various investigations into such policy over time) and on an effective basis (according to two recent attempts at this type of measurement that have recently become available), In addition, the study attempts to relate the predictions of some of the theoretical literature on effective protection and patterns of industrialisation to the South African situation. The broad conclusion that emerges is that the nature of protective policies in South Africa appears to have been such as to have induced a specific type of import substitution which although 'initially responsible for high levels of growth is presently proving restrictive, In addition, one can attribute the importation of vast amounts ef capital goods as well as the lack of exports ef manufactured goods to such policies, The major recommendation that emerges from the study is that, given the present situation in South Africa, a possible way for the country to recover from some of its present problems as regards unemployment and balance of payments difficulties is for the State to modify its protective policies. In addition, it is suggested that this modification be framed in such a way as to increase the level of tariff protection on more intermediate stages of the productive process. While this may encourage a greater amount of import substitution at these stages it may well induce local producers to substitute labour for capital and thus reduce the heavy reliance on imported capital goods that appears to be characterising local production. By encouraging the use of one of the country's most abundant resources, viz. labour, the country may yet develop a considerable comparative advantage that may facilitate exports of manufactured goods.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / This research is a contribution to the field of development evaluation. Much of the evaluation practice in development and public policy remains weak in scientific validity, and challenged by issues of attribution and comparability of results across different studies. After an in-depth review of the existing literature and an analysis of the current shortfalls and knowledge gaps in programme evaluation, the research proposes a methodological framework that allows for the empirical measurement and comparison of the impact of diverse types of interventions aimed at addressing a specific outcome of interest. The evaluation framework informs decision-making in social-economic development processes, by combing elements of theory-based counterfactual evaluation, multiple-treatment meta-analysis, mixed methods, and participatory approaches. The evaluation framework is tested in South Africa by utilising the proposed package of methods through two case studies presented in this thesis, to generate evidence for policy-makers, programme managers, and investors operating in the education sector. The first is an evaluation of the impact of the corporate social investments of Anglo American Platinum in Limpopo and North West provinces, that utilised geo-spatial features of mining operations to conduct a quasiexperiment. The second is a comparative analysis of major interventions implemented in South Africa to improve learning outcomes in public schools. The education meta-analysis is the first of its kind to be conducted in South Africa, and has revealed many locally-produced impact studies which had not previously been captured by international reviews on school interventions in developing countries. The empirical work conducted in this research confirms existing theories and reveals new insights into the role of the private sector, the proximity of schools to mines, psycho-social and economic factors, learner age and home language, educational material, quantity and quality of teachers, school management, and accountability systems, in affecting education outcomes. The research highlights some of the programmes and policies which have been most effective in South Africa’s schooling sector, while cautioning about the contextual factors and methodological design features which influence the effect sizes being reported in the evaluations of development interventions. The research concludes by reflecting on the experiences, data and cost analysis challenges, and the lessons learnt from the application of the proposed evaluation approaches in South Africa’s education sector. It discusses the limitations of the framework, and how this can be further refined for future use in other countries, sectors, and development policy contexts. / GR2018

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand Business School, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation 28th July 2015 / In South Africa today there are many rural economies in decline. Despite the recognition internationally, since the 2nd World War internationally and since 1994 in South Africa specifically, of the value that can be added by specifically targeting Local Economic Development and Entrepreneurship as strategies for an answer to the decline in local economies, success has been limited. More success has in fact been seen in rural communities that have developed through the natural flows of the market than from direct intervention. This progression takes a long time though and the South African situation with all its history cannot wait this long for development. The question asked is why interventions fail, what are the basic factors that make up the local economic development paradigm and how are they affecting the interventions. Information is key to planning and planning is key to successful interventions. A literature review is done in order to establish the basis of LED historically, theoretically and specifically with regards to the South African rural environment, in order to assist in the development of the information required for successful planning of LED interventions. With the most prominent factors derived from this literature review tabled and applied into established Case Study models, a questionnaire is developed for application into rural economies through Community Entrepreneurship programmes or LED vehicles. In order to establish firstly the relevance of the factors and secondly the relevance of the questionnaire, it is reviewed, scored and commented on by a select group of industry practitioners in LED. The opinion of these individuals further validates the use of the factors and questionnaire in baseline LED intervention planning.

Research Report for the Degree of Master of Arts in Political Studies Graduate School for Humanities and Social Science University of the Witwatersrand Submitted: March, 2015 / This dissertation delves into the contested post-1994 transition to deliver economic justice and development in South Africa, particularly the country’s more recent quest to emulate the interventionist economic strategies successfully implemented in South East Asia. It follows from the governing African National Congress (ANC) being one among a few governments that have explicitly committed themselves to building a developmental state. Among some of its intentions, such a state aims to alter market incentives, reduce risks, offer entrepreneurial visions and manage conflicts. Specifically, the research study examines the role of industrial sector planning in South Africa as a component of a developmental state. In the 20th century East Asian developmental states, also known as early generation developmental states, such selective industrial policy was characterised by close ties between government and business that facilitated the sharing of information. These countries – Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore - were also distinguishable by the ability of the state to “discipline” capital through treating incentives, not as “gifts” but as enforceable performance contracts. The paper is split into three parts. Part 1 looks at the origins and evolution of the concept of a developmental state, along with key elements of such a state and their applicability to South Africa. Part 2 traces South Africa’s association with industrial sector planning, from the Jan Smuts era, through Hendrik Verwoerd until the Jacob Zuma administration. Part 3 is a case study that examines two particular sectors, the automotive industry and the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector (consisting of offshore call centres and related activities) to gauge the level of corporatism, along the state’s ability or desire to “discipline” or “reward” companies in pursuit of its industrialisation goals.

Local Economic Development (LED) is one of the primary building blocks in terms of the economic growth and development equation for the Province. The primary challenges LED has the potential to address include the following: Job creation, the building of an enabling environment that will encourage economic engagement by a larger number of local entrepreneurs, drawing together a number of critical partners and mobilising their energies and resources towards local economic growth and development, facilitating access to finance, markets, capacity building and business support services, creating the environment which will effect economic viability of local communities and their Local Authorities, linking local product development to provincial, national and international markets. There are many other fundamental challenges. The key issue though is whether people in their communities, especially rural and peripheral environments, are benefiting in real terms regarding the quality of their lives. The LED programme will also give effect to the “Growth, Employment and Redistribution: A Macro Economic Strategy” framework that outlines the strategy for rebuilding and restructuring the South African economy. The document confirms Government’s commitment: “It is Government’s conviction that we have to mobilise all our energy in a new burst of economic activity. This will need to break current constraints and catapult the economy to higher levels of growth, development and employment needed to provide a better life for all South Africans.” (1996:2)

No description available.

The RDP is a plan to address the many social and economic problems facing our country — problems such as...violence, lack of housing, lack of jobs, inadequate education and health care, lack of democracy, a failing economy. The RDP recognises that all of these problems are connected. For example, we cannot successfully build the economy while millions do not have homes or jobs. And we cannot provide homes and jobs without rebuilding the economy. We need policies and strategies to address all of the problems together. The RDP aims to do this. The RDP is a programme to mobilise all our people and all our resources to finally get rid of apartheid and build a democratic, non racial and non sexist future. The RDP was drawn up by the ANC-led alliance in consultation with other key mass organisations and assisted by a wide range of nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and research organisations. This inclusive approach to developing and implementing policy — involving as many organisations as possible — is unique in South Africa’s political history. The ANC — because it is a liberation movement and based on the traditions of the Freedom Charter — is the only political organisation which can bring together such a wide range of social movements, community-based organisations and numerous other sectors and formations. This widespread and broad-based support throughout South Africa will allow the ANC within a Government of National Unity successfully to implement the RDP.

M. Tech. Comparative Local Development

No description available.

This thesis employs a dynamic form of the gravity model and data from 1988-2005 to estimate the effects of RTAs in SSA on intra-African trade. The thesis proposes a better approach to examining member-nonmember trade relations of RTAs. This thesis is unique because it uses System GMM estimator to overcome econometric issues associated with estimating dynamic models. The results suggest that COMESA and SADC has led to a significant increase in intra and extra-RTA trade. ECOWAS has increased intra-ECOWAS trade but decreased extra-ECOWAS trade. ECCAS has had a negative impact on both intra-ECCAS and extra-ECCAS trade flows. The proposed approach of examining member-nonmember relationships provides better estimates. A comparative analysis is made to shed light on how high or low the trade creation effect of RTAs in SSA are. The results of this thesis support the view that the impact of RTAs in SSA is higher than perceived. / x, 61 leaves ; 29 cm