Thesis (M.Com. (Economics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

This thesis consists of four self-contained papers, which are all related to important environmental and natural resource issues from a developing country perspective. Paper [I] concerns climate policy and addresses the potential welfare gains of introducing a technology transfer from the North (richer countries) to the South (poorer countries). The results largely depend on the environmental policy in the pre- transfer resource allocation and, in particular, whether or not the South abates its own emissions. Although the technology transfer is desirable from a “global social planners” point of view, it is shown that the incentives to use the transfer might be weak from the perspective of the North; at least if the South takes its own measures to reduce emissions. However, in a situation where the North is committed to emission reductions according to the Kyoto protocol, it is shown that there will clearly be incentives for the North to use the technology transfer in order to reach the Kyoto targets in a more cost efficient way. In paper [II], the likely effects of an environmental fiscal reform in Namibia are examined by means of a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model. The results show that the introduction of an environmental fiscal reform, where taxes on natural and environmental resources (fish rents, energy and water) are recycled to the economy in different ways might give rise to benefits in terms of GDP, employment and income distribution, in addition to the environmental impacts. While subsidizing unskilled labour would give the most favourable outcome in terms of real GDP and employment impacts, a decrease in food taxes might be a more interesting option if GDP, employment, income distribution and environmental impacts are considered in combination. In paper [III], the value of irrigation water used for different crop alternatives in the Hardap region in Southern Namibia is estimated. The study finds that all crop alternatives that farmers in the region currently choose among, will remain financially viable after the planned increases in user charges. However, if full cost recovery is to be achieved in the future, substantial changes in the agricultural production will most likely be necessary. The method is also extended in order to study the potential effects on total water demand if further increases in user charges are implemented. Paper [IV] studies the likely effects of exogenous international food and oil price shocks on the Namibian economy. This is particularly interesting in a country where the domestic consumption of corn and petroleum products is mainly imported, and where water scarcity represents one of the main constraints to agricultural expansion. The results show that the Namibian economy will be negatively affected from the food and oil price increases, and water scarcity will further limit the ability of the economy to adapt to international oil and food price increases.

South Africa's North West Province is dependent on gold and platinum exports for its economic growth and employment. Whether this specialisation is optimal from an economic growth, employment creation and welfare point of view, or whether greater export diversification should be encouraged, can most appropriately be evaluated using a general equilibrium framework. Moreover, the answer of whether such specialisation or rather diversification is appropriate may differ depending on the spatial level of analysis that is taken. For instance, export diversification or specialisation on a national level might differ from export diversification or specialisation on sub-national (e.g. provincial) level. A general equilibrium framework is most appropriate for investigating the potential differences between these levels as it takes into consideration a region's economic structure, and the economy-wide linkages between demand, supply, production structure and income distribution. In this light this thesis proposes a regional applied general equilibrium (RAGE) model for the North West Province to address these issues. The question asked is, how can a RAGE model be formulated and implemented for the North West Province of South Africa in order to study the differential impacts of greater export specialisation versus greater export diversification? In answering this question this thesis provides policy makers at regional/provincial level with access to a potentially useful modelling tool, to analyse regional economic issues; it contributes to better understanding the spatial concentration and spatial dynamics of economic activity in the North West Province; and contributes toward the practical policy debate in South Africa. This thesis reviews the literature on export diversification and specialisation, by investigating the extent of export diversification and specialisation in the North West Province over the period 1995-2006 and its relationship to GDP per capita, and using a RAGE model to investigate the economy-wide impacts of greater export diversification versus greater export speciaRsation. These results are contrasted by investigating the economy-wide impacts of greater export diversification versus greater export specialisation on the national level, using a country-wide applied general equilibrium (AGE) model for South Africa. It is found that greater export diversification results in a more substantial increase in exports (of between 0.95 and 1.73 per cent) than in the case of greater export specialisation. In fact it was found that if the North West Province were to specialise in mining exports, such exports would need to grow or increase from the base year by approximately 78 per cent (with no increase in the export demand for other sectors) to result in the same level of growth of total export volumes as is found under export diversification. Avenues for further research are identified. These are a need for more research on elasticities and parameters at regional level, an expansion of the transport services sector in the model, incorporating Tourism Satellite Accounts, BEE and SMME aspects into the model, etc. In conclusion, the thesis implemented the first provincial regional applied general equilibrium model for South Africa, and illustrated that it can make an important contribution to the policy debate on a provincial level in South Africa. The construction of Social Accounting Matrices (SAMs) for all of South Africa's provinces, and the maintenance of these provincial databases could therefore make further contributions to the quantitative assessment of policy options facing government on both the national and provincial level. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Economics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (M.Com. (Economics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (M.Com. (Economics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

South Africa's North West Province is dependent on gold and platinum exports for its economic growth and employment. Whether this specialisation is optimal from an economic growth, employment creation and welfare point of view, or whether greater export diversification should be encouraged, can most appropriately be evaluated using a general equilibrium framework. Moreover, the answer of whether such specialisation or rather diversification is appropriate may differ depending on the spatial level of analysis that is taken. For instance, export diversification or specialisation on a national level might differ from export diversification or specialisation on sub-national (e.g. provincial) level. A general equilibrium framework is most appropriate for investigating the potential differences between these levels as it takes into consideration a region's economic structure, and the economy-wide linkages between demand, supply, production structure and income distribution. In this light this thesis proposes a regional applied general equilibrium (RAGE) model for the North West Province to address these issues. The question asked is, how can a RAGE model be formulated and implemented for the North West Province of South Africa in order to study the differential impacts of greater export specialisation versus greater export diversification? In answering this question this thesis provides policy makers at regional/provincial level with access to a potentially useful modelling tool, to analyse regional economic issues; it contributes to better understanding the spatial concentration and spatial dynamics of economic activity in the North West Province; and contributes toward the practical policy debate in South Africa. This thesis reviews the literature on export diversification and specialisation, by investigating the extent of export diversification and specialisation in the North West Province over the period 1995-2006 and its relationship to GDP per capita, and using a RAGE model to investigate the economy-wide impacts of greater export diversification versus greater export speciaRsation. These results are contrasted by investigating the economy-wide impacts of greater export diversification versus greater export specialisation on the national level, using a country-wide applied general equilibrium (AGE) model for South Africa. It is found that greater export diversification results in a more substantial increase in exports (of between 0.95 and 1.73 per cent) than in the case of greater export specialisation. In fact it was found that if the North West Province were to specialise in mining exports, such exports would need to grow or increase from the base year by approximately 78 per cent (with no increase in the export demand for other sectors) to result in the same level of growth of total export volumes as is found under export diversification. Avenues for further research are identified. These are a need for more research on elasticities and parameters at regional level, an expansion of the transport services sector in the model, incorporating Tourism Satellite Accounts, BEE and SMME aspects into the model, etc. In conclusion, the thesis implemented the first provincial regional applied general equilibrium model for South Africa, and illustrated that it can make an important contribution to the policy debate on a provincial level in South Africa. The construction of Social Accounting Matrices (SAMs) for all of South Africa's provinces, and the maintenance of these provincial databases could therefore make further contributions to the quantitative assessment of policy options facing government on both the national and provincial level. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Economics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Utilizando o modelo gravitacional, estimado através da Pseudo Máxima Verossimilhança de Poisson com a inclusão de efeitos fixos, esta tese de doutorado fornece evidências de que a OMC teve um profundo impacto sobre o comércio internacional. Entretanto, esse impacto ocorreu de forma assimétrica entre os setores, países desenvolvidos e em desenvolvimento, membros e não membros. Considerando as importações agregadas, os países em desenvolvimento foram os mais favorecidos pela atuação da OMC, porém com dados desagregados de produtos primários, têxteis e industrializados, os países desenvolvidos foram os que mais se beneficiaram do aumento do comércio mundial promovido pela OMC. Muito embora as nações desenvolvidas também tiveram seus fluxos de comércio ampliados pela OMC nos setores têxtil e industrial, o maior crescimento ocorreu no setor primário. Além disso, esses países não discriminaram os não membros da instituição. Diferentemente, a abertura comercial dos países em desenvolvimento foi discriminatória e o crescimento do comércio foi observado apenas em produtos primários e industriais, mas em menor magnitude que as nações desenvolvidas. Alternativamente, utilizando o Modelo de Equilíbrio Geral Computável do GTAP, foram avaliados os impactos de uma hipotética conclusão da Rodada de Doha sobre os países desenvolvidos e em desenvolvimento, membros e não membros da OMC. Os resultados sugerem que, ao incorporar a redução de barreiras não tarifárias nas reformas, além das tarifas de importação e subsídios à exportação, os ganhos, em termos de PIB e bem-estar, ampliam-se para os seus membros, sugerindo que seus efeitos são claramente dominantes em relação às tarifas de importação e aos subsídios à exportação. Considerando o cenário de maior liberalização comercial, os países desenvolvidos teriam um crescimento de bem-estar de aproximadamente US$ 572 bilhões, enquanto os em desenvolvimento aumentariam US$ 441 bilhões. O custo de não ser membro da OMC, em termos de bem-estar, pode chegar até US$ 34 bilhões. / Using the gravitational model, estimated through the Pseudo Maximum Likelihood of Poisson with the inclusion of fixed effects, this doctoral thesis provides evidence that the WTO had a profound impact on international trade. However, this impact occurred asymmetrically between the developed and developing countries, members and non-members. Considering aggregate imports, developing countries were the ones most benefited by the WTO, but with disaggregated data on primary, textile and industrialized products, developed countries benefited most from the increase in world trade promoted by the WTO. Although developed nations also had their trade flows expanded by the WTO in the textile and industrial sectors, the largest growth occurred in the primary sector. In addition, these countries did not discriminate against non-members of the institution. In contrast, trade liberalization in developing countries was discriminatory and trade growth was observed only in primary and industrial products, but to a lesser extent than developed nations. Also, using the GTAP General Computable Equilibrium Model, the impacts of a hypothetical conclusion of the Doha Round on the developed and developing countries, members and non-members of the WTO, were evaluated. The results suggest that, by incorporating the reduction of non-tariff barriers in the reforms, in addition to import tariffs and export subsidies, gains in terms of GDP and welfare increase for its members, suggesting that its effects Are clearly dominant in relation to import tariffs and export subsidies. Considering the scenario of increased trade liberalization, developed countries would have a welfare growth of approximately US$ 572 billion while developing countries would increase US$ 441 billion. The cost of not being a member of the WTO in terms of welfare can reach up to US$ 34 billion.

Neste Trabalho, modelamos a redução de custos de transportes decorrentes de hipotéticas melhorias na qualidade da infraestrutura de transportes terrestres da economia brasileira. A liberação de recursos gerada por essas melhorias foram traduzidas, em nosso modelo, como ganhos de produtividade para dez setores selecionados. A escolha dessa modelagem possui a vantagem de deixar que os agentes econômicos decidam o que fazer após o choque na produtividade total dos fatores, sem que estes recursos estejam comprometidos com quaisquer incentivos de natureza específica, como seria o caso de um subsídio à compra de determinada matéria-prima, por exemplo. O comportamento do setor, em consequência da realização do experimento, fica condicionado às hipóteses iniciais do modelo referentes aos parâmetros de decisão da firma, das famílias e do governo. Para os cálculos dos impactos sobre a produtividade, utilizamos as matrizes de insumoproduto estimadas por Martinez(2013). Os resultados mostraram ganhos expressivos para o produto interno bruto, a Balança Comercial e o volume de produção setorial, dentre outras variáveis analisadas. / This work analyses the impacts of lowering transport costs derived from quality improvements in Brazils land transportation infrastructure. The resource disposals generated by those improvements are modeled as total productivity gains in ten selected economic sectors. This modeling pattern presents the advantage of let agents decide about the best resource allocation after the shocks. Proceeding this way, we avoid create any bias in resource allocation decisions, as it would happen if the shocks was established by a subsidy for each sector. The economic behaviors by sector are subordinated to the initial assumptions made about decision parameters of firms, households and government. The main results show that gains in terms of GDP growth, trade flows, and production are significant.

Utilizando o modelo gravitacional, estimado através da Pseudo Máxima Verossimilhança de Poisson com a inclusão de efeitos fixos, esta tese de doutorado fornece evidências de que a OMC teve um profundo impacto sobre o comércio internacional. Entretanto, esse impacto ocorreu de forma assimétrica entre os setores, países desenvolvidos e em desenvolvimento, membros e não membros. Considerando as importações agregadas, os países em desenvolvimento foram os mais favorecidos pela atuação da OMC, porém com dados desagregados de produtos primários, têxteis e industrializados, os países desenvolvidos foram os que mais se beneficiaram do aumento do comércio mundial promovido pela OMC. Muito embora as nações desenvolvidas também tiveram seus fluxos de comércio ampliados pela OMC nos setores têxtil e industrial, o maior crescimento ocorreu no setor primário. Além disso, esses países não discriminaram os não membros da instituição. Diferentemente, a abertura comercial dos países em desenvolvimento foi discriminatória e o crescimento do comércio foi observado apenas em produtos primários e industriais, mas em menor magnitude que as nações desenvolvidas. Alternativamente, utilizando o Modelo de Equilíbrio Geral Computável do GTAP, foram avaliados os impactos de uma hipotética conclusão da Rodada de Doha sobre os países desenvolvidos e em desenvolvimento, membros e não membros da OMC. Os resultados sugerem que, ao incorporar a redução de barreiras não tarifárias nas reformas, além das tarifas de importação e subsídios à exportação, os ganhos, em termos de PIB e bem-estar, ampliam-se para os seus membros, sugerindo que seus efeitos são claramente dominantes em relação às tarifas de importação e aos subsídios à exportação. Considerando o cenário de maior liberalização comercial, os países desenvolvidos teriam um crescimento de bem-estar de aproximadamente US$ 572 bilhões, enquanto os em desenvolvimento aumentariam US$ 441 bilhões. O custo de não ser membro da OMC, em termos de bem-estar, pode chegar até US$ 34 bilhões. / Using the gravitational model, estimated through the Pseudo Maximum Likelihood of Poisson with the inclusion of fixed effects, this doctoral thesis provides evidence that the WTO had a profound impact on international trade. However, this impact occurred asymmetrically between the developed and developing countries, members and non-members. Considering aggregate imports, developing countries were the ones most benefited by the WTO, but with disaggregated data on primary, textile and industrialized products, developed countries benefited most from the increase in world trade promoted by the WTO. Although developed nations also had their trade flows expanded by the WTO in the textile and industrial sectors, the largest growth occurred in the primary sector. In addition, these countries did not discriminate against non-members of the institution. In contrast, trade liberalization in developing countries was discriminatory and trade growth was observed only in primary and industrial products, but to a lesser extent than developed nations. Also, using the GTAP General Computable Equilibrium Model, the impacts of a hypothetical conclusion of the Doha Round on the developed and developing countries, members and non-members of the WTO, were evaluated. The results suggest that, by incorporating the reduction of non-tariff barriers in the reforms, in addition to import tariffs and export subsidies, gains in terms of GDP and welfare increase for its members, suggesting that its effects Are clearly dominant in relation to import tariffs and export subsidies. Considering the scenario of increased trade liberalization, developed countries would have a welfare growth of approximately US$ 572 billion while developing countries would increase US$ 441 billion. The cost of not being a member of the WTO in terms of welfare can reach up to US$ 34 billion.

A projeção de expansão dos recursos petrolíferos do país a partir do pré-sal provocará, além do aumento da produção, a mudança na balança comercial do setor, tornando o Brasil um exportador líquido de petróleo e gás natural. Dada a importância do setor petrolífero para a economia de um país e sua presença como insumo em diversos setores buscou-se neste trabalho estudar os impactos desse choque de oferta na economia brasileira através de um modelo de equilíbrio geral computável dinâmico para o horizonte de 2010 a 2020. Além disso, estudaram-se os impactos de longo prazo até 2090 através de dois cenários alternativos. Um deles calibrado para simular a curva de produção do petróleo incluindo o pré-sal projetada através da modelagem de Hubbert e outro através da simulação do pré-sal como uma tecnologia subsidiada endógena ao modelo utilizado. Foram investigados os impactos macroeconômicos, setoriais, a possibilidade de doença holandesa e os impactos ambientais nos cenários de médio e longo prazo descritos. Os resultados obtidos mostram que na análise até 2020, apesar de impactar positivamente o PIB e o bem-estar do consumidor representativo, a produção do pré-sal produziu sintomas de doença holandesa, observados a partir de apreciação cambial real, impacto negativo na produção de alguns setores, assim como deslocamento de fatores produtivos entre os setores. Também houve um impacto positivo no total de emissões de gases de efeito estufa brasileiras e mundiais. No primeiro cenário de longo prazo, os resultados de impactos positivos sobre o PIB e bem-estar, sintomas de doença holandesa e aumento de emissões de gases de efeito estufa são observados até o pico de produção em 2030. E no fim do horizonte de simulação observa-se um impacto negativo sobre o PIB, bem-estar e na produção de todos os setores da economia. No segundo cenário de longo prazo os efeitos em 2090 são também negativos, mas percebe-se um impacto negativo na economia nesse cenário também no médio prazo, devido à curva de subsídios assumida que provocou uma alocação ineficiente de recursos na economia. Conclui-se a partir desses resultados que o desenvolvimento do pré-sal traz mais custos que benefícios à economia brasileira no longo prazo, considerando o atual conhecimento tecnológico. Dessa forma, são desejáveis políticas de investimento e desenvolvimento tecnológico capazes de reduzir os custos de exploração, bem como medidas capazes de reverter ou reduzir os sintomas de doença holandesa. / The projected expansion of the country\'s oil resources from the pre-salt layer will cause, beyond an increase in production, a shift in the trade balance of the sector, turning Brazil into an oil and natural gas net exporter. Given the importance of the oil sector to the country\'s economy and its presence as an input in several sectors, in this article we studied the impact of this supply shock in the Brazilian economy through a dynamic computable general equilibrium model for the 2010-2020 time horizon. Furthermore, we studied the long-term impacts until 2090 through two alternative scenarios. One calibrated to simulate the oil production curve, including the pre-salt oil projected through Hubbert\'s model and the other scenario through the simulation of the pre-salt productions as a subsidized technology endogenous to the dynamic computable general equilibrium model used. This study aimed to analyze the macroeconomic, sectorial and environmental impacts, and the possibility of Dutch disease, all in the medium and long term scenarios. The results show that, until 2020, despite positively impacting GDP and welfare of the representative consumer, the shock produced symptoms of Dutch disease that can be inferred through the results of real exchange rate appreciation, negative impact on the production of some sectors, as well as productive factor movement across sectors. In addition, the pre-salt production positively impacted total emissions of greenhouse gases in Brazil and in the world. In the first long-term scenario, the outcomes of positive impact on GDP and welfare, symptoms of Dutch disease and increased greenhouse gas emission are observed until the oil production peak in 2030. In the end of the simulation horizon, there is a negative impact on GDP, welfare and production of all the economy sectors, given the Brazilian oil curve production assumption. In the second long-term scenario, the effects in 2090 are also negative, but negative impacts on the economy in this scenario are also noted in the medium term due to the assumed subsidy curve that caused an inefficient allocation of resources in the economy. From these results it is possible to conclude that the development of the pre-salt oil implies in more costs than benefits to the Brazilian economy in the long run, considering the current technological knowledge. Thus, investment policies and technological development that can reduce operating costs are desirable, as well as policies to reverse or reduce the symptoms of Dutch disease.