Thesis (M. Laws (Law))--Rhodes University, 1999.

Please read the abstract in the 00front part of this document / Dissertation (MSc (Agric))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

Over the years, South Africa has embarked on significant strides towards trade liberalisation with a view to generate economic growth that enhances employment and reduces poverty. The purpose of this study is to determine whether trade liberalisation has enhanced economic growth in South Africa. The specific research objectives were to (i) provide an understanding of the country’s trade liberalisation policies (ii) empirically determine the short-run and long-run effects of trade liberalisation on economic growth between 1970 and 2017 and (iii) to provide policy recommendations based on the findings. To this end, utilising three different proxies of trade liberalisation, the study employed the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Model to determine the long-run and short-run impact of South Africa’s trade liberalisation on economic growth. The study found that trade liberalisation enhanced economic growth in South Africa and noted that the results hold only when using trade openness and real effective exchange rate as proxy for trade liberalisation. This suggest that trade liberalisation in South Africa has had a general positive effect on economic growth. Despite the positive effect on economic growth, there is still a need to ensure that within the trade policy, increased focus on sectors that have the potential for value added and job creation. / Economics / M. Com. (Economics)

Thesis (Ph.D. (Economics))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic & Business Sciences. / This thesis investigates the impact of tariff liberalisation on South African trade flows and product quality. The thesis addresses four objectives. First, various measures of trade margins (extensive and intensive) are discussed and calculated for exports and imports. Second, focusing on the European Union-South African Free Trade Agreement, the study investigates the impact of tariff liberalisation on South Africa’s export intensive and extensive trade margins. Third, the impact of tariff liberalisation on the intensive and extensive import margins is investigated focusing on South Africa major trading partners. Lastly, the study examines the impact of tariff liberalisation on product quality of South African exports. In addressing these objectives, the study uses panel data exploiting variations across product, time and countries. The results (in Chapter 2) show that South Africa generally exports more varieties to developed countries and trade more at the intensive margin with China. For imports, the results show that South Africa imported more varieties from developed than developing countries. These results are consistent across different measures of trade margins. In general, the results shows that trade agreements have been important in shaping South Africa’s trade patterns. The study also finds differential impacts of tariff reduction across product groups exported (Chapter 3). Disaggregated results largely confirm that tariff reductions are associated with an increase in the number of destinations of South African exports, except for consumer goods. Homogenous products show a weaker relationship with tariff reduction suggesting that homogeneous products are not easily traded even if there is tariff reduction. This implies the need for South African exporters to differentiate their products to increase trade with the European Union. The results also show differential impacts of tariff reduction across different product groups imported (Chapter 4). Capital, intermediate and consumer products show greater responsiveness to changes in tariffs suggesting that trade policy should be targeted, especially to those sectors that aid production. Finally, results show a positive relationship between tariff changes and product quality (Chapter 5). The results suggest that tariff declines are associated with a decline in quality upgrading.

The study used the partial equilibrium WITS-SMART Simulation Model to assess the impact of liberalization under the Trade Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA) of a free trade area between the EU and South Africa. The findings of the study reveal that total trade effects in South Africa are likely to surge by US$ 1.036 billion with a total welfare valued at US$ 134 million. Dismantling tariffs on all EU goods would be beneficial to consumers through net trade creation. Total trade creation would be US$ 782 million. However, South African producers are likely to contribute a trade diversion of US$ 254 million which has a negative impact on consumer welfare. The country might also experience a revenue loss amounting to US$ 562 million due to the removal of tariffs. On trade, the country’s export and import to the EU is expected to increase by US$ 12.419 million and US$ 1.266 million respectively. To mitigate revenue loss, the country should try to diversify its current tax base.

M.Comm. / This study will quantify the economic impact of the FTA negotiated between SA and the EU. Two simulations are undertaken. The first simulation focus on the bi-lateral elimination of import tariffs between SA and the EU on non-agricultural products (industrial products). The second simulation considers the bi-lateral elimination of import tariffs on non-agricultural and agricultural products between SA and the EU. The quantitative analysis can only handle a limited number of arguments of the FTA. Notably, financial assistance, development, and social and cultural co-operation are examples of issues that will not be dealt with in a quantitative manner in this study. The goal of this study is to undertake an empirical analysis of the free trade agreement (FTA) between South Africa (SA) and the European Union (EU) using an applied equilibrium model.

This study examined the impact of financial liberalisation on economic growth in South Africa. The study used quarterly time series data for the period 1980 to 2010. A vector error correction model was used to determine the short run and long run effects of financial liberalisation on economic growth in South Africa. The other explanatory variables considered in this study were government expenditure, investment ratio, public expenditure on education and trade openness. Results from this study revealed that financial liberalisation, government expenditure and public expenditure on education have a positive impact on economic growth while trade openness negatively affects economic growth in South Africa. Policy recommendations were made using these results.

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 has resulted in the GATT Contracting States making a renewed commitment to freer global trade and trade liberalisation. These Contracting States signalled their commitment to GATT policies and principles by undertaking to abolish all those non-tariff barriers which were not converted to tariffs and to decrease all tariffs applied by their domestic economies. The movement away from protectionism is intended to bring contracting states in line with the GATT most-favoured-nation and national treatment principles. The only exceptions to these principles are the regional trade arrangements which can be implemented in accordance with Article XXIV of GATT 1947 and the Understanding on the Implementation of Article XXIV of GATT 1947. Regional trade arrangements such as customs unions and free-trade areas have been allowed by the GATT as they are deemed to promote trade liberalisation through the removal of substantially all trade restrictions between countries party to these trade arrangements. In practice this has not been the case, however, as these regional trade arrangements have been known to apply very protectionist trade policies. This research determines whether regional trade arrangements are inherently protective ie does the nature of these regional trade arrangements encourage protectionism? The external trade policies of the European Union (EU), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) are analysed to determine whether the contracting parties to regional trade arrangements have corrupted the GATT provisions and so contributed towards the protectionist nature of these regional trade arrangements. The internal trade provisions relating to the implementation of these regional trade arrangements have also been discussed to determine their compliance with Article XXIV of GATT 1947. As all the selected regional trade arrangements have direct or indirect links to South Africa, the implications of the policies chosen by these parties for South Africa have also been discussed. Analysis of the EU, SADC, SACU and ASEAN has shown that prior to the adoption of the GATT 1994, the free-trade areas and customs unions were not implemented in accordance with Article XXIV provisions. These regional trade arrangements have been moulded to fit the economic aspirations of the relevant contracting states. Of the regional trade arrangements accepted by the GATT, free-trade areas have been found to be the least protectionist and are the least likely to be perverted by contracting parties. Customs unions, on the other hand, may encourage contracting parties to protect their economies as they rely on group participation rather than individual participation. Individual Member States become responsible to the group which provides these states with greater economic power. As a result Member States are motivated to protect the new group entity from outside competition. In this way, they are inherently protective. Safeguards are therefore necessary to protect individual non-Member States from such behaviour. The implications of protectionism for South Africa, SADC and SACU have also been discussed.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of a Doctor of Technology: Business Administration Degree, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2014. / The study assesses the impact of trade and economic liberalisation policy reforms on the operations of selected manufacturing small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in Zimbabwe, and then compares the findings with experiences from South Africa’s SMEs. Motivation for the study was premised on two fronts. Zimbabwe and South Africa are currently faced with high unemployment rates (80% for Zimbabwe and 25% for South Africa). It therefore follows that job creation and poverty alleviation are the two pressing challenges facing the governments of Zimbabwe and South Africa. Secondly, the governments of Zimbabwe and South Africa have identified SMEs as the engines of economic growth with a special focus on addressing the twin challenges of unemployment and poverty alleviation. The roles and hopes bestowed on SMEs calls for a thriving and vibrant SME sector. On the other hand the adoption of trade liberalisation policies in the two countries has led some analysts to cast doubts on the ability of SMEs to withstand the fierce competition from established Multi-National Corporations and cheap imports. Employing a combined qualitative-quantitative approach, the study finds that trade and economic liberalisation policy had a negative impact on the operations of manufacturing small to medium enterprises in both Zimbabwe and South Africa. Cash-strapped SMEs have been strangled by resource-rich Multi-National Corporations. So dire is the situation that in the absence of significant government intervention, SMEs face an uncertain future. Compounding the matter is the fact that most SMEs in two countries are not involved in exports due to lack of knowledge and resources. The innovativeness ability of most SMEs remains very low. The study does not find significant differences on the impact of trade liberalisation policy reforms between SMEs in Zimbabwe and those in South Africa. It is recommended that the governments of Zimbabwe and South Africa need to introduce incentives to encourage SMEs to export and thus employ more people. Governments in Zimbabwe and South Africa need to factor in the transfer of technology to SMEs as one of the clauses when they negotiate the entry conditions of MNCs. In addition, the governments in Zimbabwe and South Africa must reintroduce tariffs in certain critical sectors of the economy to curtail cheap imports. It is cautioned that failure to protect SMEs could jeopardise the survival of most SMEs in Zimbabwe and South Africa, translating into increased unemployment, poverty and unequal wealth distribution.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / On October 1999 South Africa signed a historic TDCA with the European Union. The main objective of this agreement is to liberalise most trade between the two parties over time through a free trade agreement. Namibia as a member of SACU became automatically a de facto member of the SA-EU FTA. At the same time the EU concluded another 20-year agreement with the ACP countries effectively changing its traditional trade relationship with these countries. Namibia also being a member of the ACP group of countries finds itself in the middle of these two agreements. South Africa and the EU however opted to leave some of the sectors that are considered sensitive out of the free trade agreement in order to mitigate some of the adjustment costs likely to be faced by lesser-developed partners in SACU such as Namibia. Beef is one of those sensitive sectors as it is the main Namibian agricultural export to both the EU and South Africa. The fisheries sector likewise contributes a lot to Namibia's export earnings and the fact South Africa and the EU are negotiating for a fisheries agreement could mean a change in Namibia's competitive position in this sector. The impact that these two agreements will have on the beef sector is not very significant or at least manageable at this stage. The impact on the fisheries sector is mainly uncertain at this stage in the absence of an EU-SA fisheries agreement. The major impact of the SA-EU FTA will be on government revenues, which rely heavily on receipts from the SACU common revenue pool. The SADC has also started its regional economic integration process, which the EU hopes to be a move towards a REPA with which it hopes to do business as part of the new Cotonou Agreement. However the vast disparities in economic development between the EU and SADC does not favour such a move. The benefits will most probably accrue to the EU and the costs to SADC countries, especially those countries that are not part of SACU. It is important that if the new Cotonou Agreement is to be mutually beneficial steps need to be taken to strengthen the industrial and export capacities of the ACP countries. Otherwise this wave of globalisation will be nothing but a zero sum game.