A estratégia da política pública de longo prazo para o setor aeroespacial compreende, historicamente, uma variável fundamental para organização e desenvolvimento dessas atividades em todos países que contam com esses segmentos industriais, inclusive o Brasil. A partir de meados dos anos 2000, a retomada das políticas industriais setoriais, como diretriz para o desenvolvimento econômico no Brasil, marcou um novo cenário em relação aos anos 90, com a implementação de estratégias baseadas nas características e nos desafios para as atividades. Essas novas diretrizes envolveram também o setor aeroespacial. O tema do presente trabalho é a estratégia para o Setor Aeroespacial Brasileiro, entendida como a apreciação das escolhas e objetivos da política industrial. O problema de pesquisa, por sua vez, consiste na análise comparada da estratégia brasileira e na formulação de considerações para uma avaliação abrangente da política, tendo como referência a experiência canadense. O objetivo do estudo é comparar a concepção estratégica para o setor aeroespacial estabelecido no Brasil pela Política de Desenvolvimento Produtivo (PDP) em 2008 em relação National Aerospace and Defence Framework (NADF), que foi instituída no Canadá, em 2005. A justificativa para escolha da referência canadense é fundada nas semelhanças em relação orientação da produção e características configuração setorial. Nesse contexto o estudo descreve a evolução e apresenta as especificidades do sistema de produção aeroespacial do Brasil e do Canadá; analisa as diretrizes políticas e estratégias para o setor, empreendidas pelos países, tendo como referência os objetivos de política setorial; e compara os programas e ações para o setor, desenvolvidos no contexto da PDP (Brasil) e da NADF (Canadá). Entre as constatações derivadas da análise podemos destacar as diferenças no conceito de autonomia associados à políticas empreendidas no Brasil e no Canadá; a participação das médias empresas e das subsidiárias estrangeiras no tecido produtivo; e a configuração da infraestrutura e serviços de apoio entre os países. Particularmente, em relação às políticas, há diferenças importantes em relação aos objetivos; requisitos e forma de seletividade das ações; e articulação dos instrumentos para consecução dos objetivos. Entre as considerações críticas para avaliação da política no Brasil, formuladas com base experiência canadense, destacam-se a ausência de um projeto integrado para o setor aeroespacial e definição de metas em relação às variáveis básicas de performance da atividade industrial; o foco excessivo nos produtos e a pouca ênfase nos processos de construção de competências para inserção nas cadeias internacionais de valor; e a visão limitada dos elementos institucionais necessários para viabilizar a produção aeroespacial no longo prazo. / The strategy of long-term public policy for the aerospace sector comprises Historically, a key variable for organization and development of these activities in all countries that have these industry segments, including Brazil. From the mid 2000s, the resumption of sectorial industrial policies, as a guideline for economic development in Brazil, marked a new scenario for the years 1990, with the implementation of strategies based on the characteristics and challenges for the activities. These new guidelines also involved the aerospace sector. The theme of this work is the strategy for the Brazilian Aerospace, understood as the appreciation of the choices and goals of industrial policy. The research problem, in turn, is the comparative analysis of Brazil\'s strategy and the design considerations for a comprehensive policy, with reference to the Canadian experience. The objective is to compare the strategic design for the aerospace sector in Brazil established by the Production Development Policy (PDP) in 2008 for the National Aerospace and Defence Framework (NADF), which was established in Canada in 2005. The rationale for choosing the Canadian reference is based on similarities between production orientation and configuration features sector. In this context, the study describes the evolution and presents the system specifications in the aerospace in Brazil and Canada, examines the policy guidelines and strategies for the sector, undertaken by countries with reference to the objectives of sector policy, and compares the programs and actions for the sector, developed in the context of the PDP (Brazil) and NADF (Canada). Among the findings derived from the analysis can highlight the differences in the concept of autonomy associated with the policies undertaken in Brazil and Canada, and the participation of medium-sized enterprises and foreign subsidiaries in the productive fabric, and configuration of infrastructure and support services between countries. Particularly in relation to policies, there are important differences in relation to the objectives; requirements and form of selective measures, and articulation of the instruments for achieving the goals. Among the critical considerations for policy evaluation in Brazil, formulated based on Canadian experience, we highlight the lack of an integrated project for the aerospace and setting targets in relation to the basic variables of performance of industrial activity, the excessive focus on products and little emphasis on the processes of building skills for insertion in international value chains, and the limited vision of institutional elements needed to make production viable in the long term aerospace.

Formular uma proposição para processos de desenvolvimento local a serem institucionalizados por organizações governamentais e/ou nãogovernamentais nas comunidades através de ações destinadas a estimular a conexão entre economia regional e mundial é o objetivo deste estudo. Esta preocupação advém de que os modelos econômicos baseados em localidades, concebidos e estruturados através da percepção dos indivíduos, enquanto seres intelectuais e capazes de contribuir com sua cultura e sua criatividade para o crescimento econômico local, necessitam de um processo coletivo para a criação e condução de ações de desenvolvimento endógenas. Percebeu-se que há urgência de uma mudança radical na mentalidade coletiva como a que determinou a importância da tecnologia na Revolução Industrial no processo de transformação da sociedade agrária na sociedade industrial. Agora, com a metamorfose desta na sociedade digital, a relevância é a cognição, onde a meta é o entendimento do entrelaçamento do microcosmo da localidade com a dimensão mundial, para estabelecer um modelo de desenvolvimento econômico através da capacidade da sociedade de planejar e conduzir sua própria experiência local. A proposição desta tese é que esta capacitação, normalmente função do desenvolvimento institucional decorrente de um processo histórico, se desencadeie nas regiões a partir de um processo cognitivo coletivo. O conhecimento, onde se encontram elementos que possibilitam a compreensão de relações complexas e abstratas, como as econômicas, dessa maneira gerenciado, deverá estabelecer formas de organização e julgamento das idéias e conceitos necessários para a construção de um modelo original resultante de características culturais da população, que dessa maneira poderá contribuir para o desenvolvimento sustentável global com criatividade e inovação. / To formulate a proposition for local development processes to be institutionalized by both governmental and non-governmental organizations in the communities, through actions bound to stimulate the connection between regional and world economies is the aim of this work. This concern derives from the fact that the economic models based on localities, conceived and structured through the perception of individuals, while intellectual beings and capable of contributing with their culture and creativity to the local economic growth, need a collective process for generating and conducting endogenous development actions. It was perceived that a radical change in the collective mind urged, as the one which determined the importance of technology in the Industrial Revolution in the process of transforming a rural society into an industrial one. Now, with the metamorphosis of this digital society, the relevance is cognition. The goal is the understanding of the locality micro cosmos interwoven with the world dimension, so as to establish a model for economic development through society\'s ability to plan and conduct its own local experience. This thesis proposition is that this capacitating, usually a function of institutional development deriving from a historical process, is unleashed in the regions from a collective cognitive process. Knowledge, where elements are found that allow understanding complex and abstract relations, such as the economic ones, thus managed, will establish forms for organizing and assessing the ideas and concepts necessary to set an original model that can be a result of the cultural characteristics of the population, which may contribute for global sustainable development with creativity and innovation.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The 1996 Singapore Ministerial Declaration refocused attention in the international community on the idea of non-reciprocal system of trade preferences as a means of development assistance. Authors of the initiative had hoped that such policy would among others, help promote industrial exports and facilitate sustainable development in developing countries. However, this happened against the background that previous schemes could not be particularly associated with any form of sustainable export successes that were usually contemplated and expected from beneficiaries. In view of the developmental implications of this renewed focus, the imperativeness of an reconsideration of the economics of the programme cannot be overemphasized. While extant trade preference studies have made important contributions to our understanding of their effectiveness, the limited focus of research on direct impact like, static increases in exports, foreign direct investment (FDI) and employments does not seem to provide satisfactory assessment. Very often, the expected indirect or dynamic impact on productivity improvements needed to strengthen competitive capacities and make gains (export performance) sustainable is neglected. In this study an attempt is made to address this issue. The main objective of the research is therefore to analyse the relationship between nonreciprocal system of trade preferences and industrial export performance sustainability in beneficiary countries. This is accomplished by utilising a new analytical insight from the global production network literature. The advantages of this analytical departure lie not just in the fact that it allows us to accommodate the dynamic dimension of impact assessment into the study framework, but also helps reflect the concerns of globalisation advocates in the contemporary analysis of development issues. These advocates argue that research on economic development in general and industrial development in particular in the new era of global capitalism must as a matter of necessity, be informed by the literature on globalisation. After conceptualising an analytical model which has both static and dynamic dimension, it is then applied and tested for the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Trade Initiative of 2000. Lesotho’s apparel export under the scheme serves as the case study for this investigation. Results of the econometric estimation for the static impact assessment reveal that AGOA has been effective in stimulating Lesotho apparel exports to the US market. The dynamic impact assessment dimension is carried out within the context of the debate on economic growth and convergence. Specifically, it is argued that the conditions necessary for export performance to be sustainable require that national social-capability in a beneficiary economy be adequate and sufficient. The estimated regression confirms this hypothesis for the reference case study. Overall, the dissertation has shown that research in economics can benefit from analytical insights borrowed from other disciplines. More important however, is the study’s contribution to the trade policy debate on the impact of trade preferences on export development. On one hand, the static impact analysis addresses a key gap in existing works which seems to place so much emphasis on aggregated national level data and cross-country regression as bases for empirical evidence. By utilising disaggregated firm level data for a specific country, analysis here finds relevance in the continuing policy debate on trade preference impact assessment. On the other hand, the dynamic aspect of the analytical model has not only helped us to shift the frontier of knowledge beyond its current static boundary, but also to inform the debate on economic growth and convergence. As efforts to unravel the puzzle over the non-convergence of cross-country growth performances continue to flourish, findings here lend credence to the hypothesis that social capability matters for economic performance of nations.

In March 2002, the Coega Development Cooperation (CDC) announced that the infrastructure design was complete, and the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) was declared the first IDZ in South Africa. The Coega IDZ was established to improve the delivery of infrastructure in the Eastern Cape by addressing skill shortages, unemployment, constrained planning and project management capacity, under-expenditure, sub-standard infrastructure, and inefficiencies that characterise delivery of infrastructure by government in South Africa generally and the Eastern Cape Province in particular. In the process, socio-economic development and transformation in the Eastern Cape and South Africa as a whole will be advanced. The primary objective of the study was to investigate the extent to which the various determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) influence the investment promotion strategy (IPS) used by the CDC, and how these determinants can be used in the IPS to increase the number of signed investors at the CDC.

In 2005, the city of Port Elizabeth, in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, initiated an urban renewal project of its derelict city centre areas and the southern part of the old Port Elizabeth port. This, after the newly constructed Port of Ngqura, 34-kilometres north of Nelson Mandela Bay, was designed to serve as a state-of-the-art industrial port within a specially established Industrial Development Zone (IDZ). This has freed the existing southern part of the old Port Elizabeth port – strategically centred on the doorstep of the city – up for re-development for nonindustrial purposes, effectively opening it up to retail, residential, office and tourism/leisure/entertainment development; and causing it to become an extension of the inner city. The Urban Renewal Plan and the implementation thereof, address specific local economic growth-related factors, integrated with urban development challenges applicable to the city. Since the process began in 2005, significant progress has been made, embracing a long-term approach incrementally implemented on the basis of a well-researched overall plan. This plan is hinged on the strong foundation of in-depth, extensive market research in the retail, residential, office and tourism/leisure/entertainment sectors and aims at the creation of a strong cluster around these areas of development. The term cluster describes the concept of groups of inter-connected and related firms, suppliers, related industries, and specialized institutions in particular fields, uniting in particular a location to - amongst other reasons - maximise their reach, lower their costs and enhance their business (Porter: 1990: 71). In this study, the cluster concept is broadened to encompass a constellation of urban developments around and complementing retail, residential, office and tourism/leisure/entertainment business. As such, the urban renewal project becomes an important element in the Local Economic Development (LED) planning of Port Elizabeth. The practical experience of traditional, rational and urban planning methodology, often conflicts with the reality of market demand - particularly in the South African case. Therefore, this study explores an alternative method for approaching urban planning, by focussing on the bottom-up approach, which essentially takes into account the needs of the customer – or local community – through a special purpose vehicle: a fresh, alternative approach to urban renewal that still makes a positive contribution to local economic development. The Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) – a separate company formed by the NMBM to manage the redevelopment of the city – strategy embraced an interventionist approach to urban renewal as an alternative framework for encouraging overall development in a particular urban node. The cornerstone of the MBDA’s urban renewal approach is an overarching philosophy of “private sector investment following public sector infrastructure investment” (MBDA: 2010: 2). This research is the result of a long-standing interaction between theory, praxis and reflection. Experiences of practical implementation have been framed by the MBDA project over a five year period and build the case-study presented. viii Urban planning and urban renewal are used in a pro-active, action-orientated manner, to achieve sustainable, competitive LED through the development of a viable multi-purpose, non-industrial retail and leisure cluster in Port Elizabeth. Port Elizabeth is still known as the Friendly City. This epithet originated from an effective tourism marketing campaign in the eighties, but as a true description, has become somewhat diminished by the urban decay of the past twenty years. The Friendly City concept refers to a city that presents a healthy mix of work, housing and leisure – a combination of lifestyle offerings that no longer really exist in Port Elizabeth. However, through interventionary initiatives such as the MBDA’s Urban Renewal Plan, this situation is likely to change as a result of catalytic urban developments. Port Elizabeth was built on an internationally competitive motor manufacturing and industrial cluster, but had few other major industries. As such, the creation of an innovative urban renewal cluster was critical for the diversification of its economy – not only from a local economic perspective, but also from a national and international competitiveness point of view. It is the general feeling amongst city planners, economists and industrialists that the current industrial base of Port Elizabeth is not sufficient and that a more diversified economy would have the potential to improve the domestic and global competitiveness of the city. This interaction between the dual goals of economic and urban development, produces farreaching effects on the discourses of urban management and planning, as the two compete and converge to push development forward. Diversification is, however, not an easy endeavour. Considerations around growth-related objectives on planning demands – a shift from the rational, linear and government-based structure of urban management, to an interactive governance of planning and development – where integrated urban and economic strategies inter-play with planning and implementation, has become important in the creation of a more diversified economy. In Port Elizabeth, this approach is referred to as an “alternative method” of urban planning: An approach that involves a process of guided development through a collaborative bottom-up engagement, involving local government, public participation and the private sector. The alternative method of urban planning is further reinforced by the current economic recession, which is, and will continue to, change property development and its response to the needs of the market for the foreseeable future. The solution to urban renewal does not only lie in well-targeted, well-researched public-sector infrastructure investment (that responds strongly to the market and customer needs), but in a joint participatory process that ensures that the final design of infrastructure projects is the outcome of what the market requires, as a means to ensure sustainability and the biggest possible response in private sector investment. Because of global economic forces, the functional and developmental structure of the neighbourhood – where the epicentre of the growth system is situated – has become of paramount significance. This thesis attempts to demonstrate how urban renewal and the redevelopment of designated, formally idle city buildings and public spaces may serve as a site for the creation of an urban growth node or urban cluster. A key focus of this study is how new economic and social growth based structures can be induced to integrate with the process of urban redevelopment. Further demonstrated is that the agenda for urban management, illuminated in the light of the described practices, conducts a fundamental re-appraisal in its local economic development context. Local economic development has been lauded as the saviour of development at a local level in South Africa. LED, however, has by no means utilized the required level of property development pragmatism and has thus, throughout the duration of its approach, not culminated in specific sustainable, capital-driven projects – which is probably one of the reasons for its overall market failure in South Africa and Port Elizabeth. LED has therefore become an outdated economic approach that leaves in its wake, the necessity and opportunity for a fundamental change. Urban renewal and the city’s economic contribution to LED, requires a completely new conceptualisation of urban renewal in its narrow sense, and urban design and planning in its broader sense. Concepts such as redevelopment and urban renewal are frequently used in planning discourse. Redevelopment is understood to encompass actions of clearing (such as slum clearance), reorganising or reconstruction. Renewal signifies rebirth, breaking new ground or innovatively refashioning; a form of re-growing or bringing new and more prolific life. In this thesis, reference is made to urban renewal as an attempt to influence social and economic forces in a desired direction, integrated with planning and development. It re-conceptualises redevelopment as more than a matter of reconstructing an urban arrangement. These concepts are often used in line with the new governance-based style of urban planning, such as guided development, development planning and efforts for enabling the feasibility thereof. This thesis attempts to clarify under what conditions redevelopment is unified with social and economic regeneration. Its approach intends to scrutinise regional strategies, urban management and urban planning to generate an understanding of the urban environment as it relates to growth issues. Many growth-related discourses are discussed in terms of development and innovation. The grammar of this process, when unified with urban development, is referred to as a Dynamic Place Initiative (DPI). In the DPI, issues of feasibility (enablement) are unified in formal government, planning and implementation, restricted to a specific bounded area. The core focus of interest in this thesis is not primarily concerned with architecture and urban design, but rather with the principles of how the process may be implemented as a leverage tool to encourage a range of factors to interact with government agents in an LED-orientated field of action. This field includes not only the built infrastructure, but also the inherent economic and social targets that come with such infrastructure. This thesis discusses economic and innovation theory, as a method of understanding urban development, yet should be understood as an analysis of urban renewal and urban planning. The MBDA case study is a brownfield (redeveloped/renovated) development within an economic cluster of retail, residential, office and tourism/leisure/entertainment. The MBDA uses greenfield (new) development to complement urban renewal and systems of innovation x that endeavour to meet customer needs. The development case aims to focus on its customer (or local community) needs in an all-encompassing approach. Specifically, this includes guided development - a process using well-defined urban design briefs that ensures urban designs are complementary in their overall impact and culminate in a dynamic place initiative. The situation in Port Elizabeth is not unique. On account of global forces of industrial transformation, many countries have, and continue to, find themselves struggling with the renewal of large and redundant inner urban areas that were formerly used for industry and logistics. A typical challenge in this type of context for renewal is to design development schemes that will encourage economic growth and revitalisation within these areas. Although planning, construction and development are systematically methodical activities, economic and social regeneration are more complex. Due to the on-going transformation of the economy in South Africa, the urban context is under constant pressure to change in tandem with pressurised demand for change. The driving forces in the economy are progressing from a nation-orientated and raw-materialbased production origin, which formed the industrial society, to a global, regional and information-orientated urban growth-based structure. The condition of cities has become one of the qualities – or a prominent part of the overall quality – of this so-called knowledge economy. The urban environment, the territorially bounded areas which comprise it and the conditions of the environment within which it exists, are important factors for competitiveness, at both a city and regional level. Observed in reverse, competitiveness has also become a critical factor in achieving complex urban change from a new perspective of economic growth. Cities are the engines of regional and national growth. The economic success of cities and CBDs in South Africa is vital and will effectively ensure the much-needed upgrading of CBD and township infrastructure, using the revenue streams generated during city-centred economic revival. In South Africa (and likely elsewhere in the world), urban renewal is not only about aesthetics, but also about providing a foundation for urban planning, functional architecture and LED. In situations where cities undertake the urban renewal of redundant areas and buildings, economic competitiveness is foremost on the agenda. In order to understand how the forces of production and growth are linked with urban development, it is important to consider the new growth-orientated context for planning. An awareness of these changes and their trends, expressed as a paradigm shift, is reflected in the current discussions concerning the revision of urban planning in South Africa. This specifically targets integration between the previously disadvantaged communities and the advantaged communities. The Strategic Spatial Implementation Framework (SSIF) (2005), often referred to as the “Master Plan” of the MBDA, is an interventionist plan to ensure that the urban renewal infrastructure programme has well-researched projects with a strong catalytic impact leading xi to private sector investment and that thus secure the highest possible economic multiplier impact. Over the past four years, extensive capital has been deployed in Port Elizabeth’s urban infrastructure to lay the foundation for an enabling environment for private sector investment that will culminate in mobilising people to live, work and play in the city again. Public participation and market research have shown that the demand for residential, office, retail and tourism/leisure/entertainment will be directed largely by the black population; more specifically, the “black diamond” middle class anticipated to dominate the future Port Elizabeth economy (MBDA: 2010). It was the initial infrastructure programme in the CBD – which included projects that codepended or linked up with one another, to form a collective whole – which lifted the inner city to another level. It is these urban projects that culminated in renewed interest in the city, inter-linking this interest with the retail, residential, office and tourism/leisure/entertainment customer needs of the city. In most European countries, as in the case of South Africa, urban planning is in the process of transformation, from being a method for regulation and control into becoming a channel for possibilities and enabling development at local level. It is common cause that society needs to be more involved in a city’s planning processes. Tax payers now increasingly demand the use of government funds for infrastructure and the improvement of public areas and open spaces. In the 1980s, the liberal alternative to meet the shortage of tax money was to rely on private investment for urban development. The society used its organisational and planning capacity to encourage market investment through public-private partnerships (PPPs). This strategy is viable in situations where the level of financial risk is low or where conditions are reasonably predictable. Private actors refrain from investment in complex settings where the returns are projected to be far ahead in the future. In South Africa, this is often perceived as a degree of business fatigue; particularly in respect of public-private partnerships. Urban development through private sector investment requires leadership. This can come in the form of the precreation of an enabling environment, i.e. extensive publicly funded basic urban infrastructure investment. Consequently, the urban context requires development to a level where investment can be motivated by core business economic reasoning. In short, other than making social and political sense, urban planning must adhere to financial and economic sense. The society is an important actor and one that has far-sighted motives. In Port Elizabeth, as in the case of many other municipalities, the revenue pool drawn from rates and taxes is simply insufficient to meet the demands of society. The Dynamic Place Initiative represents an alternative that unifies the advantages of the two previous planning discourses. Through a limited agency – such as the MBDA – positioned to guide urban development, the city is enabled to form advanced, politically-set strategies and at the same time, isolate the financial risk through the response of private sector investment. It should be emphasised that the private sector enters the realm of urban development through property actions guided by the planning system. Planning questions ought to be based around the there and then rather than the here and now. The MBDA has become a conduit for dealing with these systems gaps, ensuring that urban and port planning is not limited in focus but speaks to customer needs and makes financial and economic sense. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2013 / Town and Regional Planning / unrestricted

The transition to an innovative development path is impossible without a targeted industrial policy, which is a fundamental condition for the formation of an innovative type of economy. Regional industrial policy is the link between the federal industrial policy and the development strategy of a particular enterprise. The aim of the master's work is to develop a methodological approach to assessing the effectiveness of the implementation of regional industrial policy. Various points of view on the concept of industrial policy and the feasibility of its implementation for the Russian economy are considered. The analysis of the prospects and problems of the development of the industrial complex is carried out, the dynamics of the main indicators of industrial development are considered, the factors influencing the decrease in its competitiveness are identified. Sources of research include regulations, official documents of social and economic development, data from the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, articles from scientific journals, reviews and ratings of international organizations, and other sources. In the dissertation, a methodology for assessing the effectiveness of state industrial policy of the regions of the Russian Federation was developed and directions for increasing its effectiveness were formed. This methodology is based on a multicriteria approach, the assessment of the effectiveness of the functioning of the industrial complex of the region takes place in several areas and takes into account current trends in socio-economic development. / Переход на инновационный путь развития невозможен без проведения целенаправленной промышленной политики, которая является основополагающим условием формирования экономики инновационного типа. Региональная промышленная политика – это связующее звено между федеральной промышленной политикой и стратегией развития конкретного предприятия. Целью магистерской работы является разработка методического подхода к оценке эффективности реализации региональной промышленной политики. Рассмотрены различные точки зрения на понятие промышленной политики, и целесообразность ее проведения для российской экономики. Проведен анализ перспектив и проблем развития промышленного комплекса, рассмотрена динамика основных показателей промышленного развития, выделены факторы, влияющие на снижение его конкурентоспособности. Источники исследования включают в себя нормативные акты, официальные документы социально-экономического развития, данные Федеральной службы государственной статистики РФ, статьи научных журналов, обзоры и рейтинги международных организаций, и другие источники. В диссертации разработана методика оценки эффективности государственной промышленной политики регионов РФ и сформированы направления по повышению ее эффективности. В основе данной методики лежит многокритериальный подход, оценка эффективности функционирования промышленного комплекса региона происходит по нескольким направлениями и учитывает современные тенденции социально-экономического развития.

No / The software industry in the People's Republic of China has been growing rapidly over the last decades and has played a significant role in the economy. Alongside the industrial development, it appears that a comprehensive competitiveness assessment of this growing industry needs to be conducted. This paper draws on Porter's ''diamond'' theory of competitive advantage of nations and the suggested improvements of the framework from relevant scholars to assess the growing competitiveness of China's software industry. In particular, the focus is on the role of government policies and corporate strategies in shaping the competitiveness of the industry in China in comparison to the top players in the world. Specifically, the paper pays attention to the competitiveness of industry in China as to how and why it has developed the way it has in recent years and what have been the facilitating and impeding factors that has strengthened or weakened the industrial development. In the discussion and conclusions, the overall competitiveness status of China's software industry is evaluated and the diamond framework is reappraised in light of the industrial analysis and the previous research.

The objective of the study was to explore and to describe the extent to which the SIDO/UNIDO WED Programme had empowered participating women microentrepreneurs in the food-processing sector in Tanzania. The research question was: To what extent have SIDO/UNIDO WED Programme-supported women microentrepreneurs in the food-processing sector been empowered? The justification for the study was that most studies on women's empowerment have been on micro credit-based microenterprises and almost none on entrepreneurship-based ones. Furthermore, there is a very scanty coverage of Africa in women's empowerment research. Theoretical perspectives in gender and gender relations in accordance with the feminist empowerment paradigm as it is influenced by the international women's movement and empowerment guided the study. The study used a cross-sectional and causal-comparative research design. The sample comprised 78 women microentrepreneurs: 39 programme-supported and 39 others constituted a control group. Participation in the SIDO/UNIDO WED Programme was the independent variable. Women's empowerment was the outcome of interest with the following indicators as dependent variables: freedom to use own income; contribution to household income; ownership of assets; involvement in business associations; participation in trade fairs; freedom of movement and awareness of injustice. Measurement of women's empowerment was on three dimensions: economic, socio-cultural and psychological in two arenas: individual/household and community. Qualitative and quantitative primary data were collected using in-depth interviews and questionnaires. A constant comparative approach in qualitative data analysis and discussion was adopted. At first level of quantitative data analysis, descriptive statistical procedures involving cross tabulations and frequency distributions were used.Then chi-square tests and bivariate correlation analysis were performed. The findings indicated that WED Programme-supported women had become empowered in almost all indicators. However, they lacked control over their assets like their counterparts in the control group. The findings on women's freedom of movement show that it is an area where traditional ideologies, as structural factors, are resistant to changes normally influenced by women's income. The majority of interviewees from both categories were of the view that husbands and wives should have equal say in decision making and division of labour between husbands and wives should also be equal. / Development Studies / D. Litt et Phil. (Development Studies)

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The research on this topic was motivated by the concern about the state of disarray in the public hospitals infrastructure and that due to budget constrain across the globe, the governments can no longer afford to provide public health services alone without the assistance of the private sector. South African public healthcare system continues to function in a state of disarray. Public hospitals serve the vast majority of the South African population, but are underfunded and in most cases these hospitals have ailing infrastructure. The study will look at the mechanism to fund public hospitals. This study examines the role that the Industrial Development Corporation and the Development Bank of Southern Africa can play in addressing the gap that exists in funding public hospitals. It will attempt to answer the following questions of concern, how is public healthcare financed in South Africa, what are the major challenges in financing public hospitals, what is the current role played by the Industrial Development Corporation and the Development Bank of Southern Africa in funding the public hospitals and what are the other possible solutions to address these challenges. The findings indicate that, despite the government funding the public hospitals there is a shortfall of funds for hospitals to complete the project that they are engage in. Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital and other five cases of hospitals in KwaZulu Natal were looked at and confirmed that there is definitely a gap in funding public hospitals

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The non-availability of funding for low-cost housing is a major stumbling block in the provision of housing for the poor in South Africa (Moss, 2001). Banks and other commercial institutions are generally reluctant to fund construction companies in this industry in view of the high level of risk involved. The Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa is a development finance institution that is involved in the financing of construction companies. This study looked at the effectiveness of IDC in financing construction companies that are involved in low cost housing development. The study also looked at whether the IDC's strategiC objectives of promoting job creation had been achieved by providing funding to the construction companies. Only those companies involved in low-cost housing as the only or part of their business activities have been chosen for the study. A qualitative method of research analysiS has been selected as the best way of analysing the research findings in this paper. The empirical analysis indicated that generally the respondents are satisfied with the funding provided by the Industrial Development Corporation, but have serious concerns regarding the turnaround times for credit approvals, completion of legal agreements, disbursement of funds and the fees charged.