A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science May 23, 2017 / The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship and direction between electricity consumption and gross domestic product including energy infrastructure as a third variable in South Africa using the time series data from 1993 to 2015. The relationship was modelled in South Africa focusing on the industry sectors that influence economic growth and using techniques such as ARIMA model, Multivariate Regression Analysis, Vector Autoregressive and Granger Causal Test. The Vector Autoregressive model performed better than Multivariate Regression analysis in modelling the relationship between consumption and economic growth in South Africa. The Granger causal effect illustrated a direction from consumption to economic growth and again Granger cause effect from infrastructure to economic growth. The results from these models revealed that there was a relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth, as well as electricity infrastructure. South Africa supports a growth hypothesis meaning that South Africa is energy dependent. The results of the study signals that the electricity consumption of South Africa have an effect on the economic growth. / MT 2017

A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the Degree of Master of Commerce (Economics/Economic Science) in the School of Economic and Business Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 2018 / World trade has become a significant factor in improving standards of living, creating employment, improving countries’ balance of payments and making it possible for consumers to have a wide variety of goods and services to choose from (Vijayasri, 2013). Living examples of some of the benefits of world trade are those brought by the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) initiative. [No abstract provided. Information taken from introduction]. / XL2019

Submitted to the University of the Witwatersrand’s Faculty of Humanities in partial fulfilment of the degree of Master of Arts in International Relations International Relations Department University of the Witwatersrand March 2015 / Extractive natural resources have always been associated with negative outcomes in sub- Saharan countries. However, it is essential to investigate the extent to which domestic political conditions influence ownership structures, which may or may not subsequently result in adverse outcomes. Through a comparative analysis between the cases of Angola and Botswana, this study finds that, political contestation influences ownership models as hypothesized to an extent. In Angola, the post-independence civil war pitting the ruling MPLA against UNITA resulted in Sonangol being managed as a wholly owned state enterprise, albeit serving the interests of the MPLA elite instead of broad-based developmental interests. In Botswana, however, Debswana was managed as a public-private entity located within a democratic political system, and this ownership structure was more a result of rational policy planning than political contestation. Nevertheless, the cases’ history of colonial rule and political institutions established upon the attainment of political independence are substantially influential factors as well. Non-settler colonialism and non-militarized political transitions to independence facilitated the growth of “organic” political and economic institutions and public-private ownership structures in Botswana, while settler colonialism and pre-independence militarization influenced the growth of centralized post-colonial state structures internal strife in Angola. The timing of resource extraction was also important, with pre-independence oil extraction influencing militarized rivalry in Angola, while postindependence extraction of diamonds in Botswana was a causal factor in the development of strong state institutions. External factors, particularly the Cold War influenced militarised outcomes in Angola, while the nature of the global diamond market had a contributory factor to the establishment of the public-private ownership model in Botswana.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management specialising in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation Johannesburg, 2018 / Public Enterprise Development has been applied by government to stimulate the growth of SMMEs, which are identified as a key to job creation and local economic development. This report examines the impact of public enterprise development through provision of funding by Gauteng Enterprise Development (GEP) to SMMEs in Gauteng. The research examines data on SMMEs that received Enterprise Development funding between the period of 1st April 2006 and 31st of March 2016 from GEP in the Gauteng province. The data was analysed from June 2016 with the focus on the growth in turnover and employment figures prior to and after the SMMEs participated in the GEP support program. This paper uses a quantitative research approach and positive paradigm is assumed. Also, a quasi-experimental research study is used similar to a prior study by Leeuw (2010), with a t-test to measure the growth. This implies that funding, as an aspect of public enterprise development, has a positive influence on the sales and employment growth of SMMEs which in turn has implied positive effect on local economic development (LED) in Gauteng. The results from this study showed that the number of employees increased by an average of 13 employees per company after the GEP intervention from the original average of 8 employees before the awarding of the loan. However, the data analysis of the t-test summary statistics provide sufficient evidence that Hypothesis 1: A positive direct correlation exists between finance provision and growth in employment of SMMEs, is not supported. The difference in the number of employees is not statistically significant since the p-value of the t-test (p-value = 0.095) is greater than 0.05. Thus, the null hypothesis is not rejected and it is concluded that there is no correlation between provision of finance and growth in employment of SMMEs. Hypothesis 2: A positive direct correlation exists between finance provision and growth in turnover of SMMEs, the cross tabulation showed that there was an increase in the turnover earned. It is thus, concluded that there is a positive direct correlation between the provision of finance and the growth in turnover of SMMEs. / MT 2018

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