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African Economies (african + economy)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	50%
Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	41%

Kinds of African Economies

south african economy

Selected Abstracts

The Effect of Income Distribution on the Ability of Growth to Reduce Poverty: Evidence from Rural and Urban African Economies

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS AND SOCIOLOGY, Issue 3 2010
Augustin Kwasi Fosu
The present study examines the extent to which income distribution affects the ability of economic growth to reduce poverty, based on 1990s data for a sample of rural and urban sectors of African economies. Using the basic-needs approach, an analysis-of-covariance model is derived and estimated, with the headcount, gap, and squared gap poverty ratios serving as the respective dependent variables, and the Gini coefficient and PPP-adjusted incomes as explanatory variables. The study finds that the responsiveness of poverty to income growth is a decreasing function of inequality, albeit at varying rates for the three poverty measures: lowest for the headcount, followed by the gap and fastest for the squared gap. The ranges for the income elasticity in the sample are estimated at: 0.02,0.68, 0.11,1.05, and 0.10,1.35, respectively, for these poverty measures. Furthermore while, on average, the responsiveness of poverty to income growth appears to be the same between the rural and urban sectors, there are substantial sectoral differences across countries. The results suggest the need for country-specific emphases on growth relative to inequality. [source]

Global Trade Models and Economic Policy Analyses: Relevance, Risks and Repercussions for Africa

DEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 2 2008
Hakim Ben Hammouda
Computable general equilibrium models are widely used for trade policy analyses and recommendations. There is, however, increasing discomfort with the use of these models, especially in Africa. This article demonstrates that the results of several such studies of the impact of trade reforms in Africa differ drastically in terms of both magnitude and direction, failing to take account of key features of African economies. It also outlines potential consequences of the misuse of CGE models for policy evaluation and suggests pitfalls to be avoided. [source]

Financial Liberalisation in Southern Africa: An Assessment

DEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 3 2004
Obert Nyawata
In the early 1990s many Southern African economies embarked on financial liberalisation. Although it is too soon to carry out sophisticated econometric analysis of this change in policy, the available empirical evidence may be inspected to see whether it lends support to advocates of financial liberalisation. In this article we explore the avenues through which financial liberalisation might be expected to exert an influence. Consistent with much of the existing literature, we discover that a degree of agnosticism is warranted. Financial liberalisation is no panacea and will not improve economic performance unless accompanied by sound economic policies. It remains difficult to isolate the effects of financial liberalisation from the data available. [source]

Government administrative burdens on SMEs in East Africa: reviewing issues and actions

ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, Issue 2 2001
Fiona Macculloch
The important macroeconomic reforms achieved in East African economies (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) during the late 1980s and early 1990s have failed to deliver the magnitude of private sector growth and increased employment expected. Governments in the region have begun to recognize that lower-level policies and administrative procedures impose significant constraints on private sector development, stemming primarily from the command and control bureaucracies that characterised colonial governance. There are three priority areas for administrative reform: business licensing and registration, tax and customs procedures and specialised approvals. Also discussed are the problems of the special position of the informal sector, the impact of corruption and access to commercial justice. [source]

AIDS and economic growth in Africa: a panel data analysis

JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2001
Simon Dixon
HIV/AIDS is the dominant health issue in Africa, where in many countries the human and social costs are devastating. Any deterioration in economic performance is likely to compound these costs and render countries less able to cope with the epidemic. However, conventional economic theories of growth argue that the impact of such an epidemic on the growth rate and level of income may be positive or negative. The analyses reported in this paper assess the impact of the HIV epidemic upon economic growth performance in 41 African economies between 1960 and 1998. The results indicate that for African countries where the prevalence of HIV is relatively low the impact of the epidemic conforms to ,normal' economic expectations. However, when the prevalence of the epidemic is relatively high the macroeconomic impact of the epidemic is unclear. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Postcolonial Transitions in Africa: Decolonization in West Africa and Present Day South Africa

JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 5 2010
Stephanie Decker
abstract Black Economic Empowerment is a highly debated issue in contemporary South Africa. Yet few South Africans realize that they are following a postcolonial trajectory already experienced by other countries. This paper presents a case study of British firms during decolonization in Ghana and Nigeria in the 1950s and 1960s, which saw a parallel development in business and society to that which occurred in South Africa in the 1990s and 2000s. Despite fundamental differences between these states, all have had to empower a majority of black citizens who had previously suffered discrimination on the basis of race. The paper employs concepts from social capital theory to show that the process of postcolonial transition in African economies has been more politically and socially disruptive than empowerment in Western countries. Historical research contributes to our understanding of the nature of institutional shocks in emerging economies. [source]

The Effect of Income Distribution on the Ability of Growth to Reduce Poverty: Evidence from Rural and Urban African Economies

A New-Keynesian DSGE model for forecasting the South African economy

JOURNAL OF FORECASTING, Issue 5 2009
Dave' Liu, Guangling
Abstract This paper develops a New-Keynesian Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (NKDSGE) model for forecasting the growth rate of output, inflation, and the nominal short-term interest rate (91 days Treasury Bill rate) for the South African economy. The model is estimated via maximum likelihood technique for quarterly data over the period of 1970:1,2000:4. Based on a recursive estimation using the Kalman filter algorithm, out-of-sample forecasts from the NKDSGE model are compared with forecasts generated from the classical and Bayesian variants of vector autoregression (VAR) models for the period 2001:1,2006:4. The results indicate that in terms of out-of-sample forecasting, the NKDSGE model outperforms both the classical and Bayesian VARs for inflation, but not for output growth and nominal short-term interest rate. However, differences in RMSEs are not significant across the models. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Exports and economic growth: The case of South Africa,

JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2009
Logan Rangasamy
Abstract Economic policy has always accorded an important role to export production in the overall growth process in South Africa. Recent policy proposals once again reaffirm this commitment. This paper attempts to ascertain whether the emphasis on export production is justified. Using modern econometric techniques within a multivariate framework, the results show that there is uni-directional Granger-causality running from exports to economic growth in South Africa. In addition, the gross domestic product (GDP) accounting identity underestimates the contribution of exports to economic growth. Thus, deliberate policy measures that stimulate export production will greatly enhance the growth prospects for the South African economy. The results in this paper also indicate that more attention should be given to the promotion of non-primary exports. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Small,scale mining in South Africa: Past, present and future

NATURAL RESOURCES FORUM, Issue 4 2002
Nellie Mutemeri
Mining is an important part of the South African economy and has been the driver of much of the economic development of the country. However, the small,scale mining subsector still has to realise its full potential. A small,scale mine has been defined as a mining activity employing less than 50 people and with an annual turnover of less than 7.5 million Rand and includes artisanal mines. Small,scale miners are involved in many commodities but there appears to be a bias towards gold, diamonds and quarrying for construction materials, including brickclays. Small,scale mining is regulated by the same legislation (i.e., for the environment, labour, mineral rights, exploration and mining permitting, and skills development) as large,scale mining, though compliance is low, particularly where artisanal mining in concerned. The effective participation of small,scale miners in the mining sector is hampered by their lack of skills, i.e., technical, business and management, and their limited access to mineral deposits, capital and markets. Some of these hindrances have been inherited from the imbalances of the colonial and apartheid eras and continue to act as barriers, making entrance to the industry difficult. For those who have entered the industry out of desperation, as is the case with most artisanal miners, their activities result in negative impacts evident in the inefficient, unsafe and environmentally unfriendly operations. With the advent of the new political dispensation in South Africa, a new era is dawning for the country's small,scale mining subsector. This has resulted in a change of attitude and new government policies which have led to special programmes being put in place to promote the subsector. Intervention strategies for the support of small,scale mining (some of which are already in operation) include programmes for kickstarting mineral beneficiation and value,addition projects, development of appropriate technologies and skills and technology transfer. Proponents of small,scale mining see a well,regulated industry as being the cornerstone of future rural economic development, particularly for previously disadvantaged communities in the poverty nodes. [source]

FIRM SIZE AND EFFICIENCY IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN MOTOR VEHICLE INDUSTRY,

AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC PAPERS, Issue 4 2009
LILA J. TRUETT
The South African motor vehicle industry has historically been considered a critical industry in the South African economy and the target of numerous government policies designed to protect it and/or increase its international competitiveness. This study examines the cost performance of firms in this industry according to their size, using data categorised by output level. The results are consistent with statistically significant economies of scale at the lowest output levels and a cost inefficiency averaging from about seven to nine per cent for all firms. The findings also suggest that all else equal, the smallest firms and the largest firms have lower unit costs than mid-sized firms. While this work suggests that policies that would give incentives for the smallest firms to increase their scale of operations might help to reduce their unit costs, further investigation needs to be done with respect to why firms in the mid-level size categories appear to be less efficient. [source]