The study investigated on the channels of poverty reduction in Malawi, using household data aggregated at district level. Malawi is divided into 31 districts with different demographics and opportunities. Macro level data which was calculated in terms of district percentages were used in the study. The study emanated from the premise of the link between economic growth and poverty reduction. With the trend of growth that was seen in Malawi from 2004 to 2012; there was an interest to further investigate if there had been any significant change in the poverty levels as measured in the country by the National Statistical office. The objectives of the study were two pronged; the theoretical and the imperial. The theoretical objectives were; to provide a background of Malawi, to review the literature on poverty theories, to review the literature on the link between poverty reduction and the channels of potential impact, namely: economic growth, education attainment, access to loans and enterprises, agricultural production, population growth and employment or unemployment. The empirical objectives on the other hand were; to investigate if there has been any poverty reduction in the years 1998 to 2012 in Malawi, to assess how economic growth at a district level proxied by agriculture production and land holding affect poverty at district level in Malawi, to assess how education attainment affect poverty reduction at a district level in Malawi, conduct an analysis on how employment or unemployment affect poverty reduction at a district level. Also investigate the relationship between access to loan and poverty reduction in Malawi and to determine if different poverty measures exhibit statistically significant different responses to channels under investigation namely economic growth, education levels, population growth and access to loans at district level. The study employed descriptive and regression analysis to arrive at the results for the set empirical objectives. Due to the fact that panel data was used for districts, a random effects regression model was used for the estimations. A Breusch-Pagan test was used to decide on random effects as opposed to fixed effects model. The results from the regressions showed that all the channels that were hypothesised to be of importance, came out significant from objective based regressions. These regressions were run separately for each channel, with the district poverty rate as a dependent variable. The study found the considered channels of poverty reduction to be significant at different levels. First, it was established that there has been significant growth in Malawi. This growth however was seen to be erratic where in other years it was higher and in other years lower. A more important conclusion from the first objective was that there had been poverty reduction in the country between 1998 and 2012. A t test was also used for mean difference in the years where Integrated Household surveys were conducted namely, 1998, 2004 and 2012. The t-test showed a statistically significant reduction in poverty between 1998 and 2012 of up to 15.07. The study also found that the relationship between agricultural production and poverty was significant especially looking at local maize production which had a negative significant coefficient. Implying that, an increase in agricultural production has an associated reduction in the district poverty rate. It was also established from the results that input subsidy had a significant impact on poverty at district level. This input programme which helps poor households to access fertilizer at a highly subsidised price had a negative relationship with poverty that was significant. This shows that government’s effort in funding the national wide fertilizer subsidy has some bearing on the poverty level of the country. On the relationship between education and poverty reduction, the study also found a significant relationship. This was clear on the impact of literacy rate on poverty reduction. The regression results showed a significant negative relationship between literacy rate and poverty reduction. The channels of employment in poverty reduction was found to be significant but in a direction unexpected. Labour force participation had a positive influence on poverty rate at district level. A number of things were discovered; first the employment rate as reported in the statistical year book is misleading. What is considered employment in these statistics is basically subsistence farmers who take up more than 80% of the employment rate. Second, most of what is recorded as employment is non-skill labour with people without education recoding a 99% employment rate. This is a misleading record in as far as what employment for poverty reduction is concerned. It is therefore not a surprise that, most of the people reported as employed are also found below the poverty line some even below the ultra-poverty line. A special contribution resulting from the study is the framework on the interconnection between the channels. The study points out the fact that for agricultural production to thrive there is need for education. Also for agricultural production to succeed there is need for the farmers to have access to loans. the study discovered that more than 45 percept of the loans people obtained were for agricultural inputs. There is also a link between education and employment, education and access to loans and access to loans and employment through business start-ups that create employment. The conclusion of the study is that policies that are intended to reduce poverty should be aimed at promoting education participation. There is also need to create an environment that enables the poor to access loans and credits at a reasonable interest rate. The government should continue with the input subsidy programme for the poor household. There is need for the national statistical office to reconsider the definition of employment so that the government works with practical figures, other than the inflated employment rates that are reported in the statistical year book. / PhD (Economics), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

This dissertation will explore how developing provinces within countries attract foreign direct investment. The policy implication to this study is important because it could account for the uneven distribution of growth in developing countries that so frequently leads to dual economies. To attract foreign direct investments, provincial governments compete among themselves trying to appeal to international investors. There is consensus in the economic development literature that both economic and political variables interact to advance a nation's economy. The ability for a country to provide a free market economy to exchange goods and ideas makes the environment more favorable for investors, hence it makes sense to focus on institutions that can attract FDI if the government is committed to developing its economy and compete in the global market. Political factors serves as an important component of strengthening a country's economy. Political variables such as political capacity have helped ensure the success of a growing economy. Governments must possess the ability to extract resources from its people, thereby pursuing policy goals to create a more favorable market environment for investors. Investors then feel more confident and comfortable investing in these economies. This political variable has helped countries redefine themselves in the global community as credible and safe countries for investment. However, this political variable alone is not enough to explain how to attract foreign direct investments in developing countries. Rather, governments must also possess the economic tools necessary, such as economic growth and an open economy. These economic tools combined with political capacity can effectively attract foreign direct investments. Many provinces in developing countries lack these variables, thereby jeopardizing the opportunity to attract foreign direct investments and compete in the global market. Hence, I look at both the political and economical variables as an interaction variable as a strong indicator to attract foreign direct investments. If my work is successful, I hope that these findings can serve as a policy tool for provinces of developing countries to effectively attract foreign direct investments in a competitive global market.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the correlation between income inequality and economic growth in a cross-section of 90 countries from 2002 to 2006. The controversial Kuznets Hypothesis, the economic model that hypothesizes the relationship between inequality and per capita income is an inverted U-shaped curve, is scrutinized and investigated to consider its viability and accuracy. A multiple linear regression model is estimated and the viability of the regression model is supported by several statistical tests. Based on the estimated model, a negative correlation between growth and inequality has been found.

Past research has established that South Africa has a problem of high unemployment rate. This is accompanied by a low entrepreneurship activity that tends to lag far behind that of other developing countries as measured over the years by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) research. Entrepreneurship and small business are well recognised for their role in both economic growth and job creation. This study set out to investigate the informal sector entrepreneurial activity in Emfuleni Local Municipality which has experienced large scale retrenchments over the past decade. A literature survey was conducted to understand the characteristics, successful practices and weaknesses that distinguish the informal sector from the formal sector. The empirical study which was conducted by means of survey questionnaire among the informal sector entrepreneurs indicated that entrepreneurship in the informal sector can provide a form of income for some people that cannot be absorbed in the formal labour market. The findings of the study was that this area of entrepreneurship is dominated by the youth as more than half of the respondents were below the age of 35 years. It was also found that most of the entrepreneurs have never been formally employed which may be problematic when it comes to skills. While most of them recognised the importance of training and skills, they were also positive that they can benefit from training especially in the area of marketing and promoting their product and services. These entrepreneurs however do not seem to be benefiting from government initiatives such as the workshops offered by the local municipality and other assistance offered by the government agencies. The low skills level of most of these entrepreneurs may also hinder their ability to grow their businesses beyond the one–man operations. It is recommended therefore that the organisations such as the National Youth Development Agency double their efforts in helping the youth to become successful small business owners. The government agencies, particularly those targeting the youth should make a conceited effort to provide training in particular to these people if they are to make a lasting impact on job creation. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The country is currently experiencing a tight electricity schedule. The demand for greater capacity than the country can supply is a reality. Raising unemployment and poverty levels are a situation we contend with daily. The aim of the study is to create a generic framework for right–sourcing in the electricity supply industry. The various phases of strategy creation were analysed to achieve this target. The process of identifying core business processes was discussed. Strategic alignment is important for the success of the Information Technology strategy; this study discussed how this could be accomplished. The various Information Technology sourcing strategies were examined. The probability of a process being outsourced, stemmed from the simplicity and repetitiveness of a transaction or process, and costs involved. An empirical study was done with both quantitative and qualitative analysis. The study looked at Contract Management, Information Technology Strategy and Benchmarking. A comprehensive right–sourcing framework was developed to assist in making the correct decisions. This framework could guide new entrants to the ESI in helping them shape their strategy and formulate a distinct competitive advantage. It could assist them in meeting the growing capacity demands faster and making a significant positive contribution to the economy. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Past research has established that South Africa has a problem of high unemployment rate. This is accompanied by a low entrepreneurship activity that tends to lag far behind that of other developing countries as measured over the years by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) research. Entrepreneurship and small business are well recognised for their role in both economic growth and job creation. This study set out to investigate the informal sector entrepreneurial activity in Emfuleni Local Municipality which has experienced large scale retrenchments over the past decade. A literature survey was conducted to understand the characteristics, successful practices and weaknesses that distinguish the informal sector from the formal sector. The empirical study which was conducted by means of survey questionnaire among the informal sector entrepreneurs indicated that entrepreneurship in the informal sector can provide a form of income for some people that cannot be absorbed in the formal labour market. The findings of the study was that this area of entrepreneurship is dominated by the youth as more than half of the respondents were below the age of 35 years. It was also found that most of the entrepreneurs have never been formally employed which may be problematic when it comes to skills. While most of them recognised the importance of training and skills, they were also positive that they can benefit from training especially in the area of marketing and promoting their product and services. These entrepreneurs however do not seem to be benefiting from government initiatives such as the workshops offered by the local municipality and other assistance offered by the government agencies. The low skills level of most of these entrepreneurs may also hinder their ability to grow their businesses beyond the one–man operations. It is recommended therefore that the organisations such as the National Youth Development Agency double their efforts in helping the youth to become successful small business owners. The government agencies, particularly those targeting the youth should make a conceited effort to provide training in particular to these people if they are to make a lasting impact on job creation. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The country is currently experiencing a tight electricity schedule. The demand for greater capacity than the country can supply is a reality. Raising unemployment and poverty levels are a situation we contend with daily. The aim of the study is to create a generic framework for right–sourcing in the electricity supply industry. The various phases of strategy creation were analysed to achieve this target. The process of identifying core business processes was discussed. Strategic alignment is important for the success of the Information Technology strategy; this study discussed how this could be accomplished. The various Information Technology sourcing strategies were examined. The probability of a process being outsourced, stemmed from the simplicity and repetitiveness of a transaction or process, and costs involved. An empirical study was done with both quantitative and qualitative analysis. The study looked at Contract Management, Information Technology Strategy and Benchmarking. A comprehensive right–sourcing framework was developed to assist in making the correct decisions. This framework could guide new entrants to the ESI in helping them shape their strategy and formulate a distinct competitive advantage. It could assist them in meeting the growing capacity demands faster and making a significant positive contribution to the economy. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

In 1995, Jeffrey Sachs and Andrew Warner found a negative relationship between natural resources and economic growth, and claimed that natural resource abundance is a curse. The work of Sachs and Warner has been widely cited, and many economists now accept the curse of natural resources as a proven phenomenon (e.g. Papyrakis and Gerlagh, 2004; Kronenberg, 2004). In this thesis, I provide a new framework for evaluating this claim. I begin by providing a summary of the related literature and discussion of possible explanations for the curse. This summary is followed by a critical assessment of the theory underlying previous research. Next, I develop a new model for evaluating the curse of natural resources. I find that natural resource abundance does not directly impact economic development. However, petroleum resources are associated with rent-seeking behaviour that can negatively influence economic development. Finally, I show that my results are robust to various sensitivity analyses. The results from my model provide a deeper understanding of how natural resource abundance affects economic outcomes.

Economists have studied the relationship between population growth and economic growth for a very long time and not found any clear relationships. Recently they have begun to focus on the factors of population growth such as fertility and mortality rates. From this line of study came the age-structure hypothesis. The age-structure hypothesis was founded on the evidence from Asia’s very successful demographic transition and many economists are now wondering whether Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) will be able to repeat this feat. Hence, this study aims to investigate the relationship between the dependency ratio (a ratio between the dependents (ages 0-14 and 65+) and the number of workers (aged 15-64) in a population (Eastwood and Lipton, 2012)) and economic growth in SSA and search for evidence of a demographic dividend. Not many previous studies have been done focusing completely on SSA and this study therefore aims to shed some light on the subject. The investigation was done by a cross-sectional regression analysis using a sample of 26 sub-Saharan countries and secondary data from mostly the World Bank. The results show a significant relationship between both versions of the dependency ratio and economic growth but do not show evidence of a demographic dividend. Out of the two versions of the age-structure hypothesis, most support was found for the strong version. Furthermore, support was found for the conditional convergence theory and both savings per capita and the initial level of education were found significant. However, the results had problems with severe multicollinearity and it was concluded that the results were not entirely reliable and should not be depended upon.

Economic growth is a goal for countries around the world in order to improve living standards, and the effect of foreign direct investments (FDI) has long been studied. There are today many theories and empirical studies regarding FDI. Many questions being studied but finding a straight answer to these have showed to be anything but easy. The results and conclusions go in different directions and much disagreement on whether or not FDI actually contributes to growth. One of the core triggers to the Chinese high economic growth pattern is attributed to FDI, this thesis investigates the same FDI impact on economic growth but with focus on sub-Sahara Africa. With the help of different theories and empirical studies we have selected our variables believing they will have a significant impact on this question. With the data collected from the World Bank database about the countries and seven different variables, a regression is created. The results show that FDI plays a part when it comes to GDP per-capita growth and also that corruption has a significant negative effect on growth rates. FDI in sub-Saharan Africa is hypothesized to mainly consist of brownfield investments as a potential explanation. The data this study uses is between 2005 and 2013, meaning the results are probably not applicable to be interpreted long-term.