M.Com. (Economics) / The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the contribution of the world economy to instability in the South African economy via inflation. Double digit inflation in the South African economy remains the most important and' sole major problem influencing stabilization policy in the country. This study concentrated on the instability of the economic growth path in South Africa since the recession period of 1976. From a multiplier-accelerator model the conclusion is reached that two of the main endogenous variables in the economy, namely private consumption and total investment have adapted to behaviour patterns since 1977, in such a way that an economic growth path which deviates monotonically from the equilibrium paths has been guaranteed. The. reason for this is found in the values of two main coefficients namely the propensity to consume and the propensity to invest. The openness of the South African economy is an exogenous threat to stability in the South African economy if a high inflation rate persists.

Die onafhanklike lande van die Suider-Afrikaanse streek het, sedert hul respektiewelike onafhanklikwording, besluit om geen politieke bande of verhoudinge met hul kragtige, suidelike buurman, Suid-Afrika, aan te knoop nie. Al hierdie lande het op politieke gebied daarin geslaag, behalwe Malawi. Op ekonomiese gebied, egter, en veral op die gebied van handelsverhoudinge, was hierdie frontlinie state nie suksesvol nie. In ‘n poging om Suid-Afrika te isoleer, is ‘n ekonomiese blok, die SADCC, op die been gebring. Met die stigting van die SADCC in 1980, het die groep die vermindering van ekonomiese afhanklikheid van die Republiek van Suid-Afrika as hoofdoelwit gestel. Hierdie studie is ‘n poging om die SADCC se suksesse en mislukkings in hierdie verband te evalueer. Verder word probeer om die probleme wat die organisasie ondervind het in hul pogings ter bereiking van hierdie doelwit, binne die Suider-Afrikaanse geo-politieke omgewing, te ondersoek, veral in die lig van Suid-Afrika se vasbeslotenheid om regionale ekonomiese en politieke heerskappy te behou. Terselfdertyd poog die navorser om klem te lê op die deursettingsvermoë van SADCC lede om hul afhanklikheid van die Republiek te verminder – al was die resultaat in meeste gevalle gering. Hierdie studie toon dat die ekonomiese realiteit van die Suider-Afrikaanse streek die politieke retoriek aan beide kante van die politieke spektrum ten volle oorheers het. Die aard van die handelsverhoudinge tussen die RSA en die SADCC ledelande is deurgaans deur strukturele kontraste en weersprekende feite gekompliseer. / Prof. G. Verhoef

M.Com. (Economics) / The objective of the thesis was to examine the creation of a generally acceptable international unit of account as a precondition for the establishment of a more orderly international monetary system. The payments problem over the national boundary has for centuries baffled the brains and wits of the world's foremost economists, bankers and politicians. The high level of abstraction of the international monetary phenomenon, and the dynamics and geo-politics involved, tend to conceal the essence of the variables at work. The evolution of the international monetary system would thus seem to have trailed the evolution of the national monetary systems by almost two centuries. As recently as the twenties of this century the essence of the international monetary system was still sought in gold, a commodity that could never accommodate the growing payments needs of the world economy, especially at times when events such as wars and technological innovation acted as powerful catalysts expediting the course of events between nations. The use of the key currencies, especially the British pound sterling and the US-dollar, as instruments for international payment could not work for any length of time ...

M.A. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This thesis studies the integration of South Africa into the global economy. It uses a structural dynamic factor model approach, instead of the well known structural vector autoregressive method, as it accommodates a large panel of time series variables characterized by a number of series significantly larger than the number of observations available. South African economic cycles show some comovement with cycles of its trading partners. But the synchronization with major trading partners has declined over time due to structural reforms initiated by the post-apartheid government. A new monetary regime, trade and financial openness, an increase in political stability together with reduced uncertainty have outweighed South African output comovement with the rest of the world. Shocks from advanced economies (the US and the EU) and East Asian countries, especially demand shocks, affect domestic variables significantly. The main channels are business and consumer confidence, trade variables, interest rates, and the exchange rate. Although South Africa comoves with Latin American countries, trade and financial linkages are still very weak. The level of development, perceptions of economic agents, and fluctuations of advanced economies (the US and the EU) are the main reasons contributing to the synchronization of their variables. South Africa’s position in Africa as economic leader starts to produce results leading to output synchronization with some of its partners’ from SADC. Similar to the Latin American scenario, the main reason is that the two sides share the EU as primary trading partner. Because of the vulnerability of the South African economy, policymakers must pay a particular attention and monitor closely developments in the global economy. In the same line, they should promote policies that enable the country to have access to international markets. Given the interdependence with the rest of the world, policymakers should monitor closely the performance of the global economy. Nevertheless, idiosyncratic features of the South African economy do play a role in the explaining fluctuations in economic activity. Hence, policies that lead to a structural transformation of the domestic economy are necessary. Reforms that allow labor market flexibility; promote competition; and support human capital formation through education, are imperative. / Doctor Francisco Nadal De Simone Professor Daniel Marais

M.Com. (Economic Development and Policy Issues) / This research analyses the effect of exchange rate volatility on exports using a sample of nine emerging countries – Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Malaysia, Poland, South Africa and Thailand – between 1995 and 2010. The study uses panel data models, with a standard exports equation with exports performance determined by exchange rate volatility, the level of exchange rate, demand conditions in major countries as well as terms of trade. Exchange rate volatility is measured by Generalised Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH) and conventional standard deviation in order to determine if the instrument of volatility used influences the nature of the relationship between exchange rate volatility and exports. The results show that exchange rate volatility has a significant negative effect on the performance of exports regardless of the measure of volatility used. The Pedroni residual cointegration method was used to test for panel cointegration to determine if there is a long-run relationship among the variables, and the test showed that a long-run relationship does exists. Generally, the study concludes that policy mix that will reduce exchange rate volatility (such as managed exchange rate regimes) and relatively competitive exchange rates are essential for emerging markets in order to sustain their exports performance.

M.Com. (Economics) / The aim of this study was to look at the economic survival problem that has been very much in appearance in South Africa, especially recently. This will translate into a study of poverty in South Africa. In the second chapter I tried to get a clearer definition of poverty by, firstly looking at some formal definitions relating to poverty and then to look more generally at other descriptions of poverty from a more economic point of view. In this chapter we also discuss the Lorenz curve and how that can be used to measure poverty using income and the consumption of the population. Following on from this, in the third chapter we look at some definitions and theories of income and consumption. The theories we look at are the following : The General Consumption theory of Keynes, the Relative Income Hypothesis, the Permanent Income Hypothesis and the Life Cycle Hypothesis. After narrowing down the main cause of poverty, in the next two chapters we look at some characteristics of the poor in the rural areas as well as in the urban and metropolitan areas. In the chapter concerning the poor in the rural areas, the characteristics we look at are among others, the income, climatic problems, educational problems and health problems of the poor communities in these areas. When we discuss the characteristics of the urban and metropolitan poor, we also discuss the occurrence of unemployment and some measures that can alleviate this problem. In the sixth chapter we look at a comparison of South Africa with other countries in the world regarding the poverty problem, mainly at where South Africa fits into the world picture. In the summary some possible solutions for the whole poverty problem is put forward.

This final thesis describes new transformed system of development assistance in Czech Republic and provided forms of assistance in Latin America. In firs theoretic chapter we can read about this current system. Secon part is dedicated to concrete forms of development assisance in each state in LA. Other part describes economic relations with Czech Republic measured by turnover.Finaly there is summary informing about influence of commerece realtions on providing the development assistance.

Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in International Relations to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, 2016 / Natural resources can be a solution to the capital deficit in sub Saharan Africa. As such, resource rich countries have to avoid plundering and wastage of the resource rents. However, the nature of politics in the region points to the fact that plundering of resource rents is inevitable because most resource rich sub Saharan African countries have been prone to elite capture and bad governance. This entails that national resources are “privatised” in the sense that they are directed towards enrichment of a few. In addition, governments in resource rich countries tend to allocate resource rents inefficiently. Thus, resources do not contribute towards sustainable and long-term development. To avoid plundering and wastage, a set of institutions can be put in place that can assist in managing resource rents. These are institutions that can restrain ruling elites from capturing the resource rents for private use and the state from inefficiently allocating rents through policies. Most scholars argue that a democratic system, through frequent elections and its attendant institutions such as the rule of law, accountability and transparency allows effective and efficient management resource rents and the economy in general. This is a good starting point in conceptualising institutions of restraint. However, this study seeks to broaden our understanding of institutions of restraint by providing an alternative approach. Using Botswana and Namibia as case studies this study seeks to reconceptualise institutions of restraint without rejecting the importance of democratic institutions. The study considers the hypothesis that the success in management of resource rents, particularly in Botswana, can be explained by a combination of democratic institutions and what can be termed centralised development planning institutions. The premise of this proposition is that democratic institutions are inadequate in restraining elites or the state. Therefore, they need to be complemented by centralised development planning institutions. Working in tandem, democratic institutions and centralised development planning institutions have the capacity to adequately provide the necessary restraints in resource driven economies. In line with this, the study argues that the degree or level of restraints in a political system is essential for successful management of resource rents. / MT2017

Master Thesis Paper Submitted to: Wits Business School University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, South Africa Master in Finance & Investment, 2015 / Does the volatility of the Renminbi (RMB) have any significant impact on China’s trade? This fundamental question has garnered considerable debate in both the academic and financial circles. The recent “currency wars” amongst larger economies has further fueled the question. Using a number of econometric methods, this research dissects the heart of the effect of the volatility of exchange rate on trade. The research makes crucial findings to provide an affirmative response to the central question posed. In line with most theoretical and empirical studies, the study found that volatility of exchange rate has a positive impact on trade by boosting exports and reducing imports. The appreciation of the RMB has tended to lead to a decrease in China’s global competitiveness, and often suppresses growth. The research provides an important insight on how Chinese monetary authorities can maintain the managed pegged currency system while simultaneously expanding economic growth. Key words: Exchange rate volatility; trade balance; imports; exports; causality; appreciation; depreciation. / MT2016