This dissertation uses 13 year panel data to explore the nature of hyperinflations which occurred in 14 countries between the years 1980 and 2008. The countries are grouped into three geopolitical regions of Latin America, former states of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and Africa. The analysis principally uses the quantity theory of money (QTM) and the purchasing power parity (PPP) as theoretical frameworks. The Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causality is used to examine the nature of the relationship between exchange rates, money supply and price levels during the hyperinflationary periods. Notable similarities regarding the causal relationships, particularly between money supply, and price levels were found. Exchange rate depreciation-inflation spirals are examined using the PPP hypothesis. Over the 13 year periods under investigation, the findings suggest that prices and exchange rates did not tend to move together in all the cases. The impact of hyperinflations on the velocity of money is investigated for the three regional cases, following which the long-run relationship between QTM variables is tested using Pedroni residual co-integration. Despite the substantial dissimilarities in inflation rates and velocity in the countries, there seems not to be significant differences in the impact of hyperinflations on velocity. In examining whether a long-run or equilibrium relationship existed between inflation, money growth and real output during the hyperinflationary periods, the findings suggest it was not the case in all instances. Although the econometric results accord with findings in the relevant literature, it is apparent that despite the generic systematic features which typify the phenomenon, the hyperinflationary experiences have not been uniform and have taken different paths.

Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-88).

The objectives of the study are to explore how women assess their situation in Matabeleland South with regard to their socio-economic realities; to find out the individual and community circumstances that these rural women in the drought prone region find themselves in; to explore the most important development challenges in relation to the impacts of climate change, access to water, food insecurity, poverty, education and health facilities; to examine the survival strategies that rural women adopt in the present situation and to ascertain the recommendations they make to the government and Non Governmental Organisations to improve their situation.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-77). / This study examines how children who are exposed to the impact of HIV/AIDS in their immediate families are affected; what their experiences are and what coping strategies they employ on a day to day basis. Such children are referred to as HIV/AIDS orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). Furthermore, the study examines the response proposals of key role players, such as government departments, civil society organisations and the affected communities, in dealing with the challenges faced by HIV/AIDS OVCs.

Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) providing services to refugees and asylum seekers are hard-pressed to effectively address the many challenges that these individuals face. Many struggling Black South Africans perceive these migrants as competing for scarce resources or as being able to achieve better livelihoods than they have in their own country. This study examines the challenges faced by NPOs providing services to refugees and asylum seekers in the Cape Town metropolitan area. A qualitative research design was adopted and a total of twenty-one respondents from twelve NPOs were purposively targeted. Thus a non-probability sampling strategy was used. Data was collected through face-to-face in-depth interviews using a semi-structured schedule. The findings reveal that the legacy of the past and perpetuating socio-economic inequalities hinder the integration of refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa. Xenophobia remains a major concern and the approach of government toward migration appears contradictory. Documentation, administration and corruption at the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), the closure of the Cape Town Refugee Reception Office (CTRRO), abuse and discrimination, are major challenges for refugees and asylum seekers. NPOs assisting them remain constrained by lack of funding and government cooperation. Further awareness initiatives, community mobilisation and social cohesion programmes are required. These findings inspired some recommendations for further research as well as for NPOs, which include lobbying for the establishment of a Central Migrant Help Desk; enhancing access to psychological services; developing more social cohesion programmes and further facilitating access to basic social services. Other recommendations encourage NPOs to develop a policy document to present to parliament tackling the issues of backlogs, renewal of documents, regulations in the workforce, documentation awareness, improvement of professional training of stakeholders; and advocating for progressive and coherent policy-decision making.

The relationship between remittances, financial development, and real growth in recent years has increasingly become a topic of interest for scholars and practitioners alike. With the ever presence of globalization, the migratory patterns have fundamentally changed. The migration of people no longer means their total isolation from their home country; but rather a new dynamic environment has emerged with the increased importance of remittances on social, economic and political transformation back in their countries of origins. In addition, the continuing development of the financial systems whether it is in the banking sector or the stock exchange has accelerated in the last few decades. It is important to point out to the accelerating trend in financial development and its impact on real growth. Equally important to highlight the extent to which the financial system influenced the remittance patterns. By looking at Egypt as the country of interest from 1977 to 2014, the thesis investigates the role and impact of financial development and remittances on GDP. Egypt is chosen as the country of interest given its status as the biggest economy in North Africa and the third largest in the continent. Additionally, it is among one of the largest recipient of remittances from its expatriate population.

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has grown very rapidly over the last decade. Demand for light vehicles has rapidly increased in this period, albeit from a very low base. Growing demand is almost entirely supplied by the import of used vehicles from the developed world. This has led to an enormous automotive trade deficit in the region where, apart from South Africa, there is almost no domestic production. The dissertation establishes the trends and scale of automotive demand in SSA and then considers the question of whether and how the region can begin to meet this booming demand by developing its own industry. Despite limited industrialisation levels and relatively small domestic markets, some larger countries, such as Nigeria and Kenya, are putting policies in place to encourage domestic production. However, if countries follow individual national strategies it is unlikely that any will have sufficient market scale or investment levels to become sustainable automotive producers. A regional automotive strategy needs to be adopted in SSA in order to attract large scale productive investment.

The unofficial state of education in South Africa is announced annually by means of the Grade 12 results, also known as the National Senior Certificate. As a result, little attention is given to the more than half or at least 500 000 South African learners who drop out of the school system annually. Consequently, scholarly work dealing with topics relating to school dropout in South Africa is limited. This study moves the focus to a specific population group who are at risk of dropping out of school, namely male learners in poor communities. An exploratory qualitative study was undertaken to determine what the main factors are that are influencing school dropout among males in the greater Cape Town area of South Africa. The participants in this study included 49 key informants, including male school dropouts, teachers, school principals, representatives of the Western Cape Education Department, and parents of male school dropouts. Using in-depth individual interviews and focus group discussions, it was possible to establish that male school dropout is influenced by an array of factors of which some can immediately precede departure from high school while others could have happened years earlier in primary school or even before. The thesis established in this dissertation is that most of the influences on male school dropout are primarily institutional. In other words, the underlying narrative emphasising male school dropouts as the main contributors to this outcome is misleading. Indeed, most of these influences are amplified by practices within the institutional context, especially the school. A localised theoretical framework for male school dropout in South Africa is constructed with the support of Rumberger and Lim' s (2008) conceptual framework and can be understood within the school dropout models of both Finn (1989) and Tinto (1975). Furthermore, the total absence of school dropout records and statistics on a school and local district level keeps role players unaccountable for this action. As a result, teachers, school principals and Western Cape Education Department representatives are either ignorant of or paralysed by the complexities and extent of school dropout among males. Therefore, this study aims to lay the foundation for further research to inform and empower the aforementioned role players to address this problem.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-118). / The Breaking New Ground Plan and its implementation in the pilot project known as the N2 Gateway is an important step in the conceptualization and delivery of social housing in South Africa. The National Department of Housing in BNG promotes the building of communities and not just the construction of houses as was allegedly the case in the previously built state housing. In practice, however, the N2 Gateway Project does not adequately adhere to the Breaking New Ground Strategy and is fraught with implementation problems. Whilst the N2 Gateway houses may in some cases be of a better quality, they are being built far away from economic opportunities and lack the specified social amenities and community facilities. The N2 Gateway project has been rushed, been plagued by poor planning and has failed to deliver within its time-frames. The failure to properly implement the N2 Gateway Project necessitates an analysis of the project and if necessary a review of the BNG housing policy.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-97). / This study investigated the challenges facing non-governmental organisations (NGOs) providing services to children in the Cape Metropolitan, South Africa in the post 1994 period. Of key concern to this study is how NGOs after the transition to democracy in 1994 are coping with the new structures, legislation and funding challenges. The challenges that these NGOs face concerning the new civil society-state relations are also alluded to. More specificaUy the focus is on NGOs that provide services to children. This exploratory, qualitative study was conducted in the Cape Town Metropolitan, South Africa. A purposeful sample of five NGOs providing services to children was selected. Within these organisations, fourteen participants, five from management and nine practitioners were interviewed. A key informant was also consulted. The in-depth interviews were carried out using an interview schedule as a guide. The main findings indicate that the five NGOs subscribe to the regulatory frameworks governing their sector.