No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Comm.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

It is generally acknowledged that there is no sufficient, exhaustive and elaborate empirical examination of the quantitative impact of policies pertaining to import demand and economic growth in South Africa. In order to arrive at conclusive, sagacious and applicable policies on the economic growth potential of an economy, it is imperative to evaluate, empirically, whether envisaged economic growth rates and employment creation are feasible, given the socio-economic circumstances. The fundamental question of the constraint or rather effective constraints to high economic growth rates, measured by gross domestic product, has always desired urgent attention but has been neglected. There appears to be strong reasons to believe that the South African economy, like other middle-income developing economies, is subject to a "powerful balance of payments constraint that effectively aborts the growth process before it is able to deliver rising per capita incomes" (Industrial Strategy Project1, 1995:49 ). Furthermore, although this issue is widely recognized, there has been little systematic analysis of this important question. Many writings which, implicitly or explicitly, note the foreign exchange shortages as adversely affecting the economy's growth capacity have tended to focus and give enormous emphasis on exports and export expansion as a means to eradicate this economic dilemma. However, together with exports the demand for imports clearly determines the behavior of the trade account of the balance of payments as a whole. Consequently, this dissertation intends to consider one important aspect of the balance of payments constraint, namely, the determinants of the demand for imports in South Africa and the behavior of foreign trade. This study briefly examines the theoretical foundations of the savings and foreign exchange constraints using the 'two-gap' model. In that the main lesson is that the economy characterized by foreign exchange bottlenecks and/or lack of savings will not accomplish its perceived growth capacity. This is the background and motivation for the study of import demand elasticities as it gives impetus to the importance of both imports and exports in an economy. The dissertation derives the import demand function and employs the recent time-series techniques to modeling economic time-series. Prior to the empirical model, the study quantitatively describes the behavior of both imports, and exports, though more emphasis is placed on the former than the latter. In this section, simple quantitative techniques are utilized in order to determine the cyclical and trend behavior of import performance since the beginning of the 1970s. The study also briefly looks at the relationship between import of capital goods and investments into South Africa. Description of trade behavior involves examination of trade flows and their geographical destination by regional trading blocks. That is followed by an extensive literature survey conducted on import demand elasticities in South Africa and trade elasticities in general. This analysis gives a strong background to the time-series model of import demand estimated in this work. Time-series analysis examines the import demand at both aggregate and sectoral levels. Prior to the empirical model chapter there is an overview of time-series econometrics with regards to co-integration, error correction and non-stationary data. Import performance and import demand functions were studied in an economic policy context and the analyses were in some cases restricted by data constraints. Import behavior patterns and empirical results of the import demand models are discussed and international comparisons are drawn. 1 The Industrial Strategy Project (ISP) was authored by Joffe et al (1995). In this dissertation it is referred to as ISP (1995) although in the reference section I refer to Joffe et al (1995) as done in other publications. For instance, see Bell (1995). The same applies to the Normative Model Approach (NEM), in the text it is referred to as NEM (1993) while in the references it is reflected as Central Economic Advisory Services (1993). / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1999.

South Africa is currently undergoing a phase of transformation that has indicated a shift from institutionalised oppression in all political, social and economic spheres to a society that is ideally open, free and democratic. Many aspects of life in South Africa are therefore changing as this transformation process is proceeding. It is this transformation process that has prompted interest in the area of economic empowerment amongst those who were previously disadvantaged in the "old" South Africa. The previously disadvantaged represent a large percentage of potentially economically active members of South African society. However, because of a high unemployment rate, other alternative forms of employment need to be sought, mainly through entrepreneurial endeavours. One such alternative, which is presented in this study, is the possible role that the franchise industry may play in economically empowering people that were previously disadvantaged. The purpose of this study is to theoretically and empirically examine the potential of franchising to act as a mechanism for economic empowerment. It explores the perceptions of franchisors, franchisees and financial institutions in regards to the current state of the franchise industry in order to assess the extent to which franchising does or does not act as a mechanism for economic empowerment. Conclusions have been drawn to correlate the theory and the empirical analysis of the surveys that were undertaken. It has been found that in many ways, franchising may act as a mechanism for economic empowerment but there are factors that inhibit the role that franchising can play in promoting this form of entrepreneurship. Where these negative factors have surfaced, a methodology has been presented in order to minimise such effect. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1999.

Southern Africa's viability as a monetary union has long been under discussion. The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) is the world's oldest operating customs union, and one of the most efficient and it has the potential to foster meaningful regional economic integration. A strong foundation has been laid down by the SACU member countries in terms of trade relations, financial cooperation and policy coordination. Using the optimum currency areas (OCA) theory, the study examines the readiness and compatibility of the SACU member countries to establish an optimum currency area. The OCA theory reveals that SACU members are in very good shape and already exhibit some attributes necessary for forming an optimum currency area (OCA). The empirical evidence suggest that, from an economic perspective, it is feasible for SACU countries to move towards a fully-fledge monetary union because of the increasing macroeconomic convergence, and this means that the countries are undergoing similar shocks. The deeper trade relation that exists between SACU member states seems to have important influence on business cycle co-movements. Accordingly, the study concludes SACU has advanced its integration more than what is required in a Customs Union and that a monetary union within SACU is feasible, given the macroeconomic convergence, similar production structures and risk-hedging possibilities of member countries and because peripheral countries are able to resort to South Africa's capital market and overdraft facilities. However, the absence of real political will among the member countries will be a major stumbling block in the formation of a monetary union. It is important to note that even the formation of the EMU was not exclusively driven by economic merits per se, but also by the real political will, which had a major influence on its realisation. Such strong political will and unity on issues around the formation of the common currency would be needed to SACU countries to override issues of national interest and, the study therefore recommends that SACU countries should draw lessons from the EMU and CFA Franc zone model as these are empowered supranational authorities that have counteracted sovereignty and other political concerns to bring about meaningful and deepening economic integration in the region. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

A vibrant industrial sector that includes growing small and medium-sized enterprises is a boon to any economy. By increasing output and incomes, providing jobs for unskilled labourers, and improving prospects for efficiency and technological development, growing small firms offer both immediate and long-term benefits. These words by McCormick et aI, (1997) say it all. The theme of this study is growth, development and promotion of industry through small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs). SMMEs are cherished because of their resilience to economic setbacks, their flexibility, innovative capability and above all, their labour-intensive character. Lesotho is currently faced with a major problem of joblessness (i.e. a huge number of labour force is unemployed). The formal sector, (i.e. public sector or government, private sector and parastatals) is unable to absorb these multitudes of unemployed labour. Moreover, this sector accounts for only 44 percent of employment in the country while the rest must be absorbed in the informal sector. The industrial sector is very small if not nonexistent. Henceforth it has been recognised that SMMEs' sector can make a huge· contribution to Lesotho's economy through employment and income generation. Most importantly SMMEs' sector is regarded as a stepping-stone to the industrial sector of the country. With agricultural production steadily declining and continuing mine workers retrenchments, the informal sector becomes the employment of last resort. In addition, Lesotho being an economy that is in the mist of restructuring and privatising, entrepreneurship through SMMEs offers an alternative route to employment and growth. This study is therefore concerned mainly with small-scale manufacturing enterprises. The primary aim is to discover the income and employment generation effects ofthese entities. Other aspects to be explored include value addition potential and demand effects of SMMEs. The study has discovered that SMMEs' sector forms an important employer and income source in the country. Most entrepreneurs depend on the income earned from their enterprises as the main source of income to support more than two dependants. Monthly average income generated by most enterprises ranges from 1000 to 10000 Maluti. However there are some exceptional businesses that make more than 20000 Maluti per month. These enterprises have a potential to expand and increase their value addition and since demand for their products is high, there exists better prospects for employment and income generation. Small-scale sector was responsible for about 12 to 20 percent of industry in the country before the 1990's. Currently it accounts for 66 percent of industry. The difference proves the importance of having this sector in the economy. Employment in small-scale sector makes up to 20 percent of total labour force. Small-scale manufacturing sector (SMMEs) in Lesotho compnses the following categories: (1) Sewing and Knitting (2) Metal and Leather works (3) Woodworks (4) Handicrafts and Pottery (5) Weaving and Tapestry (6) Electronics (7) Food Processing (8) Candle and Toiletries making. Most SMMEs in the manufacturing sub-sector are in the activities of sewing and knitting followed by woodworks and leather works. Concentration of activity depends on the level of entry barriersl . Sewing and knitting is headed mostly by women entrepreneurs. There are numerous problems facing SMMEs and their performance is thus retarded. The most frequently cited problem is tinance and working capital. This is followed by the market problem though most business owners pointed out that their products are highly demanded. Lack of finance, especially loan financing makes it difficult for the enterprises to expand or grow into prominent business ventures. I EntIy barriers here maily concerns the costs of starting the particular enterprise. The Government objectives towards SMMEs sector as stated in the Sixth 5-year National Development Plan are: • To provide incentives for SMMEs development and growth • To assist them in acquisition of better management and technical skills 8 To identify growth sub-sectors of SMMEs in order to secure donors and other means offinance for them • To strengthen the capacity of support institutions which assist SMMEs in acquisition ofloans and in marketing plus capacity building through management training. However, none of these plans has ever been effectively implemented. What is lacking is devising appropriate tools that will enable government to carry out its plans. The following strategies are henceforth proposed in the study: 1. To actively support skills and management training programmes, especially because the government can secure funds in the form ofgrants or soft loans. 2. To co-ordinate with support institutions so as to establish linkages between government and these institutions and with small-scale and large-scale firms. 3. To expand the share of small-scale products in the market through publicity, market and financial support. Most importantly, government must accept tenders from SMMEs or make exclusive purchases from SMMEs. 4. To enforce a policy that lists products reserved for production by small-scale sector only. 5. To improve productivity and enhance quality through establishment of ISO 9000 quality standards. 6. To Promote specialisation in production and export-oriented SMMEs 7. To transfer technology through the media, for example, T.V programs and published materials such as newsletters and magazines. 8. To increase provision of well-serviced industrial sites, appropriate for the needs of SMMEs. . / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of Natal, 2000.

Since the early 1970s, exchange rate fluctuations have characterised the behaviour of the external value of many currencies in both high- and low-income countries. Up-and-down movements in real exchange rates have been observed under fixed as we:ll as flexible arrangements. This is in spite of the fact that many less developing countries (until the 1980s), unlike the major industrialised countries, opted to retain relatively rigid exchange rate systems after the collapse of the Bretton Woods system. Exchange rate volatility has been a subject of much concern in government, business and academic circles because it has been associated with negative effects on the performance of developing economies. Consequences of these large swings in exchange rates have included uncertainty and delays in business decisions, resource misallocation, interest rate volatility and real exchange rate misalignments. For the period, froln1970 to 1996, this study investigates the phenomenon of real exchange rate disequilibrium in developing countries, with an empirical and econometric examination of South African data. Using the ordinary least squares and the EngleGranger cointegration techniques, this investigation found that government consumption of nontradables, the price of gold in rand, the overall terms of trade and the rate of depreciation are important determinants of the short-run behaviour ofthe real effective exchange rate in South Africa. With regard to the long-run the permanent componen1ts ofthe fundamentals - namely, technological or productivity improvement, trade policy, governm1ent consumption of nontradables, disposable income, capital flows, the terms of trade excluding gold and the rand price of gold -, were found to be significantly related to the equilibrium conduct of the real effective exchange rate. Instances of real exchange rate misalignment were found in both periods of fixed and flexible exchange rate management. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sci.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

The purpose of this paper was to assess the integration of development planning and macroeconomic policy in Eritrea. In the first section of the paper, assessment of output and sectoral contribution to GDP of the major sectors is carried out and it is found that output growth in Eritrea is mainly influenced by agricultural output variations. Furthermore, economic growth is analyzed based on unconstrained production function approach and the results indicated that economic growth is impeded due to scarcity of capital input. Similar investigation based on constrained production function indicated also that capital labor ratio has significant effect on output labor ratio. In the next section, macroeconomic investigation using regression analysis is conducted. However, since most macroeconomic time series data on the level forms are non-stationary, ADF tests of stationarity are done. In addition, causation and cointegration tests are carried out to find the correct structure of the variables. Results from ADF statistic test indicated that all the time series data of the macroeconomic variables are found to be non-stationary. Furthermore, the Granger causal test indicated that government revenue causes government expenditure; economic growth Granger causes government expenditure and government revenue, while the analysis result of export growth versus economic growth indicated that causal relationship between the two variables is ambiguous. Moreover, although the time series data of most of the variables were found to be non stationary, the result indicated that they are cointegrated and this implies that they have long run linear relationships. Furthermore, regression analysis of consumption expenditure, investment expenditure and import demand on real income and other variables has been carried out. The results indicated that real income has significant coefficient estimators with respect to all the dependent variables used in the analyses. Finally, the overall assessment indicated that development planning so far in Eritrea is a projection of simple growth models that does no account for many policy instruments, while macroeconomic policies are limited to manage all economic sectors. Moreover, the regression analyses indicated that lower growth rate is dictated more due to structural and institutional rigidity rather than complicated fiscal and monetary policies variability in Eritrea. Hence, it is very difficult to conclude that development planning and macroeconomic policy are integrated in Eritrea under such conditions. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.

Thesis (M.Comm.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009. / The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), despite criticism and debate regarding its validity, remains the most widely employed model to estimate the cost of equity for use in capital budgeting decisions, both in the U.S. and in South Africa. The risk-free rate specified in the model is generally estimated with the use of a government security, but there is some concern as to the appropriateness of this practice in the South African market. An alternative approach was derived by Black (1972), known as the minimum-variance zero-beta portfolio returns; but the suitability of this parameter in the South African market has not yet been examined. The objective of this study therefore is to determine the best method to estimate the risk-free rate for applications of the CAPM in South Africa. A set of theoretical requirements that an asset must closely satisfy to be considered a suitable proxy for the risk-free rate are derived, with the most commonly employed proxies being compared to these criteria to ascertain their appropriateness. The zero-beta portfolio returns are computed, in conjunction with the rate that investors have historically viewed as the minimum required return, denoted by the intercept of the CAPM. Hypothesis tests of the equality of the two estimates of the risk-free rate and the minimum required return are conducted, as well as a comparison of the forecasting accuracy of the model using the different risk-free rate values. The results of the analysis indicate that the South African proxies diverge substantially from the criteria, and are likely to overstate the true-risk-free rate. In complete contrast to this, the hypothesis tests reveal that the proxies understate the intercept estimate, whilst the zero-beta portfolio returns closely approximate this value. This finding that the zero-beta portfolio returns, which are larger than the proxy yields, are more suitable appears counter-intuitive given the goal to identify the minimum return from investing. This result can possibly be explained by the fact that the CAPM intercept represents the average of the riskless lending and borrowing rates, whilst the proxy only denotes the former. The borrowing rate is likely to be higher than the lending rate; thus giving reason for the average being greater. However, the possibility also remains that the results observed may be a consequence of the incorrect specification of the market portfolio, that the tests employed are inapt, or that the model itself is inappropriate. The forecasting analysis confirms the greater accuracy associated with employing the zero-beta portfolio returns as the risk-free rate compared to the use of a proxy, but the improvement is small. Thus the choice for the practitioner is whether the increase in accuracy is justified by the difficulty and time involved with estimating the zero-beta portfolio returns.

In the post-apartheid period, little research has focused on the economic welfare of South African mothers. In particular there are few studies that compare the economic status of mothers by marital status. Many children in South Africa live in households without fathers (Posel and Devey 2006), which indicates that there is a high incidence of single motherhood in South Africa. Previous research has shown that South African women are more likely to be poor than their male counterparts and female-headed households, on average, are poorer than male-headed households (Posel and Rogan 2009a; Armstrong et al. 2008; Hoogeveen and Özler 2006; Budlender 2005; Rose and Charlton 2002; Woolard and Leibbrandt 1999). These results suggest that single mothers and their children would be more likely to be worse off than families that include men. Historically, insufficient data on motherhood made it difficult to identify a national sample of mothers; however recent household surveys have made it easier to do so. Using the General Household Survey (GHS) 2006 I am able to identify all women aged from 19 to 65 who are co-resident with at least one of their children aged 18 or younger. A disadvantage of this sample is that it excludes not co-resident mothers who have left their household of origin – often in pursuit of better work opportunities. Consequently the sample underestimates the extent of motherhood as well as the labour force participation rate of African single mothers in particular. Despite this limitation, I am able to gain useful insights into the economic welfare of South African mothers. By undertaking a descriptive and poverty analysis I show that on average, African and White single co-resident mothers have an inferior economic status compared to African and White married co-resident mothers respectively. I also show that disparities in income exist between the two races with White mothers, on average, having greater access to resources compared to African mothers. A benefit of the GHS 2006 is that it includes individual information on the receipt of social grant income. Thus I am able to quantify the impact of public transfers, as well as other categories of income, on poverty alleviation. I show that African single co-resident mothers, in particular, are highly dependent on grants. The study also explores the Child Support Grant (CSG) specifically and notes that the grant is limited in coverage and value. Furthermore, I highlight that the only other formal method for single mothers to obtain financial assistance, is via the private maintenance system, which is fraught with inefficiencies and often the costs of engaging with the system far outweigh the benefits. This dissertation therefore highlights the plight of South African single co-resident mothers and concludes by suggesting methods for improving their economic status. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2009.

In South Africa, sustainable development is set in the context of two separate economies. The second of these economies consists of the rural population and is characterised by poverty and stagnant development. Sustainable development is an increasingly topical concept which highlights the need for development to proceed in a manner that does not deplete natural resources. In addition to narrowing the gaps between the various classes (layers) in an economy, the key ‘ingredients’ of sustainable economic development include “natural resource management, food, water, and energy access, provision and security” (Blignaut, 2009: cited in Blignaut and van der Elst, 2009: 14). A biodigester is a potential solution to some of the difficulties faced by remote rural populations. Biodigester systems are submerged tanks capable of producing a nutrient rich fertiliser and combustible gas when consistently fed with organic matter and water. A biodigester may be one simple answer to the key ingredient needs of sustainable development – reducing the depletion of natural resources, providing clean burning energy for cooking and fertiliser for growing food. The potential is clear for biodigesters to aid in the process of sustainable development. The question to be analysed is whether this technology would be financially and economically feasible for installation and use in rural households. This thesis focuses on a typically remote and rural community in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, in order to assess the potential feasibility of a biodigester system. The appraisal takes the form of a Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) and aims to establish whether or not this technology is financially feasible for individual rural households and/or economically beneficial to society. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.