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Most attempts by governments to reduce black market activity target the supplier rather than the consumer. The current thesis, however, sees reducing the willingness of the consumer to buy such goods as crucial in reducing the market. Over three studies, I examined variables that affected consumers buying from black markets and their perceptions of black markets. Study 1 (80 participants) confirmed the hypothesis that when the need to buy from a black market was for survival it would be considered more acceptable than to save money or to buy luxury goods. Study 1 further showed it was less acceptable to buy from the black market when the victim resulting from the purchase of the good was identified as an individual, rather than an organisation or society. Age and the gender of the consumer were also significant predictors of the rating of acceptability. In Study 2,65 participants completed a series of computer simulated scenarios to measure the price they would pay for different black market goods. Results indicate that the price participants were willing to pay for black market goods varied according to who the victim was (individual, organisation or society) and the participant's age and gender. Finally, in Study 3, 64 participants completed a similar task to Study 2, but some participants were informed about the true cost of black markets. Results confirmed the previous findings as well as indicating that the type of crime committed to procure the good and whether they saw information about the true cost of the markets also affected the price they would be willing to pay. The thesis concludes with suggestions for reducing black market activity.

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M.Com. (Business Economics) / Proper pricing should be done in three phases. Firstly, the determination of the market-price, namely that price which the consumers are prepared to pay for the amount of need-satisfaction they perceived from using the product. Secondly, the determination of the target-price, namely that price wrich will give a satisfactory rate of return on investment for the firm. Thirdly, the determination of the final price, by comparing the market-price with the target-price. The determination of the market-price is becoming more and more relevant and up to the present time no comprehensive research has been done on this subject in South Africa. In this dissertation an investigation was undertaken into the present technology concerning market-pricing and from this knowledge a method was developed which will be applicable to the determination of market prices in South Africa.

Most asset pricing theories suggest that asset prices are forward looking and reflect market expectations of future earnings. By aggregating across companies, aggregate market prices may then be used as leading indicators of future Real GDP, Real Industrial Production and the level of Inflation. A Hodrick & Prescott (1981) filter is used to detrend the data, which is compiled on an annual and quarterly basis from the JSE, to test whether stock returns are in fact useful for indicating economic activity. An autoregressive model is constructed, yielding strong evidence of significance, in the first four quarters on a quarterly basis, and two years on an annual basis, for Real Stock Prices. Therefore, in terms of a South African context, the Cycle of Real Stock Prices are a leading indicator on the JSE.

Thesis. 1980. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Alfred P. Sloan School of Management. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND DEWEY. / Vita. / Bibliography: leaves 103-106. / Ph.D.