Trade of South Africa with the rest of the world has changed substantially since the mid-1990s. The United States (US), which used to be the main trading partner of South Africa, is now only the third largest trading partner of the country. South African trade with Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom (UK) are also lower. The key reason is the emergence of China in the world economy. South Africa did not trade with China before 1993, but from 2009 China became the main trading partner of the country. Globalisation and China’s emergence have influenced the trade linkages of many other countries in the world. To incorporate the changes in global trade linkages, the foreign variables of all the models in the study are compiled with trade-weighted three-year moving average data. The foremost objective of the thesis is to determine how the changes in trade linkages affect the transmission of economic shocks originating in the rest of the world on South Africa. The global vector autoregression (GVAR) approach is used since one of its advantages is the incorporation of global trade linkages, which facilitates the analysis of the transmission of shocks from one country to another. As a GVAR model combines many individual country models, the study first estimates such a country-specific model for South Africa to determine whether it displays the expected impact of domestic shocks on the economy. This type of model is known as a vector error correction model (VECM) with domestic variables and weakly exogenous (X) foreign (*) variables, denoted by VECX*. The results from the VECX* for South Africa are in line with expectations, showing the effective transmission of monetary policy. The study then examines the impact of international shocks on the South African economy with a GVAR model. The GVAR, which incorporates country-specific VECX* models for 33 countries, is solved for all 33 countries using global trade weight matrices at different dates. The results indicate that over time South Africa is much more vulnerable to GDP shocks to the Chinese economy, and less vulnerable to GDP shocks to the US economy. These trends are however not confined to South Africa, and as such highlights the increased risk to the South African economy and many other economies, should China experience slower GDP growth. Finally, the thesis determines whether the forecasting performance of GVAR models is superior to that of a country-specific VECX* model. The study compares the out-of-sample forecasts of two key South African variables (real GDP and inflation) for five types of models: a VECX*, a customised small GVAR for South Africa, the more general 33-country GVAR, simple autoregressive models and random walk models. Better forecasts of both the GVAR models compared to the VECX* model at forecast horizons of more than four quarters show that, despite the complicated nature of the GVAR model with the inclusion of many countries and global trade linkages, the additional information is useful for forecasting domestic variables / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Economics / unrestricted

South Africa changed its tax system from a source-based to a resident-based system in 2001. This change is in line with tax reforms worldwide. However, over the last two decades, personal income tax reforms have not resulted in a noticeable increase in tax revenue worldwide, even though governments find themselves hard-pressed to maintain or increase their expenditure. The aim of this study was to compare the South African tax base, which relies on taxing individuals, with the tax base used in another developing country, namely India, as well as to those applied in two developed countries, namely the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US). This comparison identified similarities and differences between the countries, and highlighted possible improvements to South African tax legislation in order to broaden the country‟s tax base and potentially increase tax revenues. For the purposes of the study, a tax base can be defined as the total income of an individual, after allowing for specified deductions, allowances and other adjustments, on which tax is levied. It was determined that the tax base used in South Africa is similar in some respects to those used in India, the UK and the US. An improvement that South Africa could adopt is the inclusion of the annual value of house property, as specified in the Indian tax system. The employment abroad exclusion from income could be replaced by a foreign-earned income exclusion, as applied in the US tax system. It was also determined that permitting certain deductions could in fact increase the tax base, as these deductions could entice taxpayers to register for tax, therefore increasing tax compliance and ultimately increasing tax revenue. By adopting any of the advantages of the other tax systems, South Africa can broaden its tax base and generate additional tax revenue to support the government‟s needs. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Taxation / unrestricted

South Africa is currently an emerging economy and has various trade agreements with the United States of America and the United Kingdom according to which South Africa enjoys different preferential rules of origin. In some respects, current customs and excise legislation relating to rules of origin places South Africa at a disadvantage in the global arena. In some cases, preferential rules of origin with developed countries benefit South Africa little if they are not properly structured, or if the rules of various trade agreements contradict each other. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether South Africa’s rules of origin are sufficiently aligned with those of more developed economies to improve the economy, thereby increasing trade growth and tax revenue. This study compared the South African rules of origin with rules of origin that are applied in another developing country, namely Brazil, as well as to those applied in two developed countries, namely the United Kingdom and the United States. To illustrate the application of the rules of origin, this study focused specifically on rules of origin applicable to individual quick frozen poultry. This comparative study identified similarities and differences between the countries, and noted possible improvements to South African customs and excise tax legislation for this industry. It was found that the rules of origin applied in South Africa are similar in some respects to those used in the UK. An improvement that South Africa could make is to minimise the number of rules in effect by negotiating better preferential rates of duty across more than one country. South Africa could also ensure that it can comply with all obligatory conditions of trade agreements entered into to avoid under-utilisation of the benefits of a trade agreement. By adopting or adapting some of the advantages of the rules of origin in the countries chosen for comparison, South Africa can grow its international trade and generate increased tax revenue to support the government’s revenue income demand. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Taxation / MCom / Unrestricted

This Master's thesis looks into the phenomenon of party identification and explores various factors that play a role in the emergence, development and decline of partisanship. It follows and compares the changing levels of party identification in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands from the 1960s to the present day and strives to determine the causes and effects of this process. It is widely accepted that declining party identification is linked to increasing electoral volatility. This thesis draws upon a range of range of theoretical works in the field of electoral behaviour. It utilizes findings of an original small scale research among the British and Dutch voters as well as established election studies.

Master thesis is concerned about relationship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the European Union. Thesis is focused on development of historical relationship between the UK and the EU since the end of second world war, followed by establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951, over Brexit, until these days. It's written from the British point of view, specifically depending on the attitude of government of UK and British parliamentary political parties to European integration. British government, similarly to British political parties, has a main impact on British public opinion. Main goal of my thesis is to focus on attitude of these political subjects to European integration and find out how great was their influence on decision of British voters during Brexit. The referendum was held on Thursday 23 June 2016 and British electorate voted to leave the EU. Thesis is divided into two parts. The first part is concerned about historical development of attitude of British government to the European union and the second one is focused on relationship between British political parties and the EU. The first chapter is about historical attitude of political parties to the EU since establishment of ECSC until announcement of official date of...

This thesis compares counter and deradicalization policies of the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Denmark. Both countries have one of the oldest policies in Europe and are characterized as different, even opposite, and therefore were chosen for the comparative analysis. Thesis assesses concrete policy initiatives preventing radicalization mainly in prisons, schools, on the Internet, governments' deradicalization initiatives; initiatives addressing foreign fighters, the extremist ideology; and other approaches in preventing radicalization. The comparison is based on the theoretical-analytical framework of the most prominent theoretical approaches towards explaining radicalization. Through the comparison, the thesis explores, sometime subtle, differences and similarities of both approaches and links them together with theoretical explanations. The thesis highlights many possible policy responses to one phenomenon, corresponding to many theoretical explanations behind it. The comparison has shown similarities and differences between the two policies and correlation between the definition of radicalization and extremism and certain policy objectives and programs. It is structured into four chapters, the first one is theoretical introduction into the concept of radicalization which creates an...

This thesis looks at the construction of China as a security threat in the United Kingdom, through the theoretical lens of techno-Orientalism. The main argument is that techno-Orientalist ideas influence the Western perception of China as a security threat, which leads to the creation of certain fears regarding China which affects the identity creation of both the United Kingdom and China. Techno-Orientalism shows how the West perceives itself as losing its grip on modernity, and thus the future; the East is being perceived as the producers of technology which lead to the opposite of the desired Western liberal humanism. Thus, the East is on its way to take over modernity and turn it into a technological oppressive future. These ideas influence how the United Kingdom perceives China as a security threat, and this is shown through a Foucauldian-inspired discourse analysis of debates in the British Parliament.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The aim of this dissertation is to explain how elective surgery patients choose between the public and private hospital sectors in the United Kingdom, and to analyze government policy changes which affect this choice. First the choice between the public and private sectors is modeled for the case where there is no private insurance available. The model takes into account the different rationing mechanisms used by National Health Service (NHS) and private hospitals to allocate surgery among patients. Private hospitals charge a price and ration on the basis of willingness to pay , while NHS hospitals , which face budget limits, ration on the basis of clinical need and require patients to wait for surgery. Consequently, a patient's choice of sector depends on her income and her level of clinical need. A simulation model is used to compare the efficiency and equity of two policy measures designed to raise the number of people receiving elective surgery : an increase in NHS funding and a subsidy to the price of private surgery. The subsidy is shown to be more efficient and the NHS funding increase more equitable. Within the same framework an expected utility model of the demand for private health insurance is developed. Two cases are analyzed: the case where individuals have no information about their future need for elective surgery and the case where they have partial information. In each case it is shown that for a given insurance premium there is a threshold level of income above which people buy insurance. It is also shown by simulation that in each case the insurance company can set a premium that allows it to break even. Finally the two models are combined. This enables the efficiency and equity of an increase in NHS funding, a subsidy to private care and a subsidy to private insurance to be compared in a situation where some private patients have insurance to cover the cost of their surgery. The NHS funding increase is shown to be most equitable , and depending on the definition of efficiency chosen, one of the two subsidies is most efficient. / 2031-01-01

Western liberal democracies currently face a significant challenge from the growing proliferation of disinformation. With research suggesting that disinformation increases the risk of violence and intergroup conflict, this thesis sought to understand precisely what is being done by states to decrease the likelihood of this happening—specifically, with how the United Kingdom compares with/differs from Sweden in the type of resilience strategies employed to combat disinformation. To answer this question, this thesis conducted a qualitative comparative content analysis to examine government communications for the purposes of identifying, codifying, and describing the different types of resilience strategies combatting disinformation as practised by the United Kingdom and Sweden, to serve as a repository aid in future intervention planning. Utilising a bespoke analytical framework to make sense of resilience strategies of differing scales, a micro-macro perspective was adopted to capture (1) bottom-up focused strategies—which sought to enhance an individual’s ability to independently evaluate the accuracy of the information that they consume and (2) top-down focused strategies—which sought to reduce societal disinformation exposure through structural interventions. This thesis demonstrates that the United Kingdom and Sweden share approximately two-thirds of their disinformation resilience strategy with one another. From 472 items sourced from British and Swedish government communications, this study uncovered 15 micro strategies and 59 macro strategies in total—which, at face value, suggests a genuine bias in favour of a macro strategic resilience approach. To the degree that this is suitable for effective societal resilience against disinformation, remains inconclusive and warrants further research.

The text deals with the issue of changes in immigration and integration policies of the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia during last twenty years. At first, it summarizes the theoretical opinions on immigration, integration, multiculturalism and pluralism and makes that so from the point of view of liberalism and communitarianism. Then it focuses on the development of immigration and integration policies in each country in given time period and especially on their qualitative change. Attention is paid to their key principles, legal basis and real practice. Finally, these three approaches are mutually compared and there are outlined their future perspectives.