Africa while being underdeveloped in terms of industry and infrastructure has much rural land and therefore has significant potential to provide global food security. This study investigates agriculture as a contributor to economic development of Nkonkobe Local Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa. While the potential of agriculture, in Nkonkobe Local Municipality is high, this sector has not been fully developed to the benefit of the community and the municipality at large. The results of this study have pointed out that the Eastern Cape, Nkonkobe Local Municipality in particular is where communal farming is practiced on the largest scale and where further growth can take place. This study is informed by the goals of reconstruction and development, as expressed in the Government’s Reconstruction and Development Programme (1995) tabled to meet the basic needs of the people, develop its human resources and to build the local economy. This study aims to transform Nkonkobe Local Municipality into an economically developed area of Amathole District Municipality, by improving the area’s agricultural contribution to the Local Economic Development (LED) of the area. This study supports entrepreneurship and innovation, job creation, raising the quality of basic services to the poorest citizens of Nkonkobe Local Municipality, and increasing the distribution of agricultural land to small holders. This study promotes the development of agricultural sector, which will enable it to absorb more low skilled labour which will assist in poverty alleviation, and promote LED initiatives. This study also develops and promotes the sustainable contribution of agriculture to LED programmes, and improves the participation of local communities in these programmes. The study was conducted using qualitative research methodology. The findings of the study reveal that agricultural infrastructure in support of LED in Nkonkobe Local Municipality must be established and improved. Such infrastructure should include the reticulation of services, such as irrigation schemes, big dams, farming equipment, tractors, laboratories, cold storages and communication links. These services are currently inadequate in the area, and hamper development and progress that the area clearly has great potential to add in terms of global food security and poverty alleviation.

This paper will be looking at unemployment in South Africa, since this is a serious matter. A number of policies in South Africa have been formulated to address the issue of unemployment since the transition from apartheid to democracy. The paper will attempt to define unemployment and the different types of unemployment. Even though policies have been designed, this does not necessarily mean that unemployment has, therefore, been reduced. In my research I will be concentrating on unemployment. I would be touching on ways that could be used to improve unemployment, in order to alleviate poverty. We are faced with challenges in our country and in the small town where we live: Matatiele. South Africa is faced with challenges, which will be addressed in the study, as it will be looking at the economy since the apartheid era ended, and the commencement of democracy under the African National Congress (ANC) government. The study will tackle the theories that were used in unemployment and the policies that were introduced, in order to improve unemployment. The study will be mentioning the different solutions that could be adopted, in order to improve unemployment and to alleviate poverty. It is not only the responsibility of the government, but through agricultural training and increased access to farming – especially in the area of Matatiele– government needs to subsidise these people, in order to produce people with skills. Unemployment would then decrease. Tourism is a prominent job-creator, because of the many opportunities it creates for semi-skilled labour, and because Matatiele people are friendly and hospitable. This could be accomplished through better education, investment to create more job opportunities, and fostering economic growth in the country (Emeka Okafor). The policy implications are that government should diminish labour-market segmentation, and the obstacles to entering the productive informal sector may be relevant. However, it should also look to other developing countries with high levels of unemployment. How have they coped with these problems.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has been perceived by most developing countries, emerging economies and countries in transition as a major vehicle for development that would not only boost a host country’s economic development but also enhance its integration into the global economy. The common assumption is that presence of foreign companies in a host country, particularly a developing country, would lead to economic benefits; among them, transfer of technology, and skills and human capacity development. The establishment of special “development zones” and the roll-out of incentives to attract FDI are often predicated on the expectation by host countries that these benefits would be achieved. It is against this background that this study sought to find out the character of FDI in the East London Industrial Development Zone (ELIDZ), located in the Eastern Cape. The study focused on the institutional preconditions and incentives used by the ELIDZ to attract FDI into the zone, and on whether these had any bearing on labour and environmental standards as well as on local skills development. Empirical data for the study were collected using in-depth interview with senior management staff of both the ELIDZ as an organisation, and one of the foreign companies located in the zone (a “tenant” of ELIDZ). In addition, a mini survey was conducted with a random sample of employees of the selected ELIDZ company. Among the key findings of the study was that the ELIDZ had in place a range of incentives and preconditions for the attraction of FDI, and that there were concerted efforts on the part of ELIDZ management to compel companies operating in the zone to adhere to specific iv standards – especially on the environmental front. From the mini survey results, however, the study established that achievements on the labour front were mixed. While most of the responses indicated that ELIDZ was playing a positive role in terms of employment creation, a high number of responses (from surveyed employees in the selected ELIDZ company) pointed out that employment standards were in question. For example, 41% of respondents reported “unhappiness” with their conditions of employment, while 50% deplored the fact that they were not allowed to belong to unions. Furthermore, responses were nearly evenly split (53%/47%) between those who reported that their employment had resulted in the acquisition of new skills and those who reported that it had not. From these and other findings, the study concluded that ELIDZ was facing a “balancing act” by expecting foreign companies to create jobs, transfer technology and contribute to local skills development while at the same time adhering to strict environmental and labour standards. The study thus confirmed a major consensus in the FDI literature, while FDI could bring about important socio-economic achievements in a host country, foreign companies and host governments are not necessarily motivated by the same set of factors. Indeed, at least a small facet of the study’s findings seemed to confirm the well-documented anti-FDI sentiment that the faith placed in FDI by host governments (especially in developing countries) does not always have a sound basis.

Ce travail de doctorat explore les conséquences des activités de recherche d’emploi sur trois aspects de l’économie : la qualité des emplois à travers l’appariement entre les travailleurs et les entreprises, les contrastes géographiques en matière de chômage, et la croissance des salaires au cours de la vie. / This PhD dissertation explores the consequences of search activities on three dimensions of the economy: the quality of jobs through the matching between workers and firms, the geographical disparities in unemployment, and the wage growth over the life cycle through job mobility.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2017. / Cooperatives play a significant role in the country’s economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction. Hence, the number of registered cooperatives in South Africa has been growing very fast. However, the main challenge is that the majority of these cooperatives are underperforming. The apartheid legacy has caused many of these cooperatives to be poorly developed or unsustainable. The aim of this study was to investigate the challenges of lack of sustainability of art and craft cooperatives in Muyexe village of Mopani district in Limpopo Province. For this purpose, eight art and craft cooperatives were used as a survey. The study used mixed research methods to collect both qualitative and quantitave data. Data was gathered from eight (8) art and craft cooperatives in Muyexe village. The cooperatives where data was collected are Progress, Tsakane, Rirhandzu, Hitekani, Vutivi, Tiyimeleni, Vuyeriwani and Pfuka Muyexe art and craft cooperatives. . Data collection was done through structured questionnaires and interviews. Secondary data was gathered through extensive literature review. The population of the study is eight art and craft cooperatives comprised of 88 members. 60 respondents represented all the eight cooperatives. Two groups of respondents participated in this study. The first group was composed of cooperatives members (n=50) and the second group of respondents were the cooperatives board of directors (n=10). The findings revealed some of the factors that cause unsustainability of cooperatives in the area of the study. These factors are lack of good corporate governance practices, inadequate developmental programmes, lack of experience in managing cooperatives, lack of coflict management, lack of ownership and others. To enhance the sustainability of cooperatives the research recommends that the policy makers and agencies should be encouraged to develop enough developmental programmes that will enhance the sustainability of cooperatives in the area of the study.

While the phenomenon of informality in labor markets is pervasive in many parts of the world, its interaction with the aggregate behavior of economies is not well understood. In this dissertation, I explore the connection between informality and the macroeconomy in two main ways. The first way is to augment a search-and-matching model of labor markets in the tradition of Mortensen and Pissarides (1994) with aggregate shocks and an informal sector. The second is to consider an Aiyagari (1994) setting in which the existence of an informal sector feeds back into the labor income risk and savings decisions of heterogeneous agents. The parameters of both models are chosen so as to match features of micro-data I obtain from Brazil. This dissertation is thus divided into three chapters: the first one presents the data and findings from the empirical exploration. The second chapter describes the model of informality over the business cycle and presents its results. The third chapter introduces the heterogeneous agents model with informality and the conclusions derived therefrom. The first chapter divides the empirical analysis into two components. Firstly, I analyze how informality is distributed over education, income and occupational groups, and how formal-informal income differentials behave over these categories. I find that informality decreases in average income, and that the formal-informal income differential is higher among low income workers. The second component pertains to the evolution of informality over time. I show that, in the time period covered by the data, the rate of informality has a strongly cyclical pattern, which is mostly explained by cyclical variation in formal job creation. In the second chapter, in co-authorship with Livio Maya, we show in a parsimonious model of business cycles and informal labor markets that the differential risk of formal and informal contracts plays a potentially important role in generating the patterns of job creation found in the data. The main finding is that generating substantial countercyclicality in the informality rate in our calibration requires the price of risk to be highly countercyclical. In the third chapter, also in co-authorship with Livio Maya, we show the transition path of a policy designed to fight informality in a heterogeneous agents setting. The main finding is that while eliminating the informal sector makes the economy more productive and reduces unemployment in the long run, the short term impact is influenced by general equilibrium effects. In particular, unemployment increases in the short run due to the impact of the policy on interest rates. Moreover, the effects of such policy are sensitive to the assumptions on the destination of the extra tax revenues derived from increased formalization in the transition path.

South Africa’s unemployment rate is amongst the highest in the world. It accounts for approximately two percent of global unemployment. The South African government has recognised the importance of job creation and expressed its willingness to help create more jobs. A comprehensive set of policies is necessary to expand long-term job growth in South Africa. Thus, the government should identify and implement new and effective policies that will help create more jobs. In this study, the tax incentives available to support job creation in Brazil, Russia, India and China and South Africa (BRICS), are researched. The purpose of this study is to perform a comparison of the tax incentives available to support job creation in South Africa with the tax incentives available to support job creation in the BRIC countries. The first objective of the comparison was to evaluate whether the tax incentives that are available to support job creation in South Africa are on par with those available to support job creation in the BRIC countries. The second objective of the comparative study was to identify tax incentives that are available in BRIC countries for job creation that are not available in South Africa so that the government may consider whether these incentives are feasible in South Africa. It was found that the tax incentives that support job creation in South Africa are in some instances on par with, and in some instances even exceed, the tax incentives that are available to support job creation in the BRIC countries. AFRIKAANS : Suid-Afrika’s werkloosheidskoers is van die hoogste in die wêreld. Dit verteenwoordig ongeveer twee persent van wêreldwye werkloosheid. Die Suid-Afrikaanse regering het die belangrikheid van werkskepping erken, en sy gewilligheid om meer werkgeleenthede te skep, bevestig. ‘n Omvattende beleidsraamwerk is nodig om die langtermyn groei in werksgeleenthede in Suid-Afrika te bevorder. Die regering behoort derhalwe nuwe en effektiewe programme om werkskepping te bevorder, te identifiseer en te implementeer. In hierdie studie word die belastingaansporings wat werkskepping in Brasilië, Rusland,Indië, China en Suid-Afrika (BRICS) bevorder, nagevors. Die doel van hierdie studie is om ‘n vergelyking te doen van die belastingaansporings wat beskikbaar is om werkskepping in Suid-Afrika te ondersteun, met die belastingaansporings om werkskepping te bevorder in die BRIC lande. Die eerste oogmerk met die vergelyking was om te evalueer of die belastingaansporings wat beskikbaar is om werkskepping in Suid-Afrika te ondersteun vergelykbaar is met wat beskikbaar is om werkskepping in die BRIC lande te bevorder. Die tweede oogmerk van die vergelykende studie om belastingaansporings wat in die BRIC lande beskikbaar is om werkskepping te bevorder, wat nie in Suid-Afrika beskikbaar is nie, te identifiseer sodat die regering kan oorweeg of hierdie aansporings haalbaar is in Suid-Afrika. Daar is bevind dat die belastingaansporings wat beskikbaar is om werkskepping in Suid- Afrika te ondersteun, in sommige gevalle vergelykbaar, en in ander gevalle selfs beter is, as die belastingaansporings wat in die BRIC lande beskikbaar is om werkskepping te bevorder. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Taxation / unrestricted

Thesis (MBA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Agriculture is an important sector that promotes food security in every country, and it contributes significantly to the economy of South Africa. There will be no food or clothing if agriculture does not exist. Agriculture accounts for 2.2% of Limpopo Province's economy. According to studies, it also contributed a large proportion to job creation. South Africa exports some of its produce to other countries, increasing the country's export level and, as a result, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Therefore, there is a need to adapt to new ways of conducting agriculture in order to operate it as a profitable business. Agripreneurship, as entrepreneurship in agriculture, encompasses both primary and secondary agriculture. Ploughing, farming, and mixed agriculture are examples of primary agricultural activities, while secondary agricultural activities include agro-processing and tertiary agricultural business such as agricultural marketing and agro-transportation. The study examines the role of youth in agripreneurship in creating employment opportunities in the Sekhukhune District Municipality. The unemployment rate in the Sekhukhune region and in South Africa is rising. This is a significant concern for the government; thus, the study examines the extent to which agripreneurship can help to reduce or alleviate unemployment. The challenges that youth in agripreneurship face in creating employment through agripreneurship, as well as the benefits, are also investigated. The qualitative research method was used to investigate youth perceptions of agripreneurship and the role of youth in agripreneurship in creating employment. Since the study's target population was small, census sampling was used; that is, fifteen (15) agripreneurs within the boundaries of the Sekhukhune District. This study reports on the findings of the study about the role of youth agripreneurship in job creation and the perception of youth towards agripreneurship in Sekhukhune District, Limpopo. The study discovered that youth engaged in agripreneurship in the Sekhukhune District Municipality played a substantial role in creating employment ranging from casual to permanent, and that youth perceived agripreneurship to have high employment prospects. The study also revealed challenges associated with youth in agripreneurship, such as a lack of capital, market, and extension officer support, as well as environmental factors such as storms.

With the advent of President Zuma’s administration, the issue of rural development became one of the key focal areas in South Africa (2009-2014). This is also premised in the South African Constitution (Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996) which provides for planning, coordination and implementation of development (rural development included) as one of the key foundations of a developmental state that South Africa envisages. Previous research found that the poorest people in South Africa live in the rural areas where they are still poor, disempowered, characterised with high dependency and outmigration of the economically active. This research used a mixed method approach where quantitative and qualitative questionnaires were used to collect primary data from 50 heads of household in Impumelelo. It was found that the Impumelelo heads of household generally hold positive perceptions on whether service delivery has improved in Impumelelo since the introduction of Comprehensive Rural Development Programme. However, there has been mixed reactions on whether locals have had access to jobs locally and on the issue of skills development for the youth. The majority of Impumelelo heads of household hold negative perceptions on whether Comprehensive Rural Development Programme has been beneficial to women empowerment, youth empowerment and long term employment in Impumelelo. / GR2018

This study sought to explore the governance mechanisms that result in agent principal alignment in Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), with specific reference to Job Creation. This is important to understand in South Africa as infrastructure PPPs are central to the government’s economic growth strategy. The Renewable Energy Programme (REIPPPP), a decade-old PPP, was identified as the ideal context given its consistent job-creation alignment between the state and its agents, Independent Power Producers (IPPs). Agency Theory posits that agents are inherently self-interested and thus unlikely to act in the interests of principals. However, while some theoretical propositions envisage instances of agent-principal alignment, what is less known are the precise mechanisms by which this can be achieved. This study explored the questions of moral hazard and adverse selection, which refer to goal conflict and information asymmetry in agent-principal relationships. The research was undertaken through a qualitative study, comprised of secondary data analysis as well as semi-structured interviews. It was found that by aligning contracts across multiple stakeholders, agents can increase their enforcement capacity. Furthermore, a rigorous data collection system accompanied by credible penalties, results in greater compliance. This contribution enhances the theory in respect of governance mechanisms whilst simultaneously providing practical guidance for PPP structuring. / Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2021. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted