Constraints to Economic Growth in South Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 110-134
Author(s):  
Kenneth Creamer

This chapter analyses the drivers and constraints on the rate of economic growth in South Africa from the 1950’s apartheid-era through to the democratic period post-1994. Key structural factors identified as impacting on the rate and composition of economic growth include the country’s history of racial injustice and exclusion, its industrial structure and linkages to the global commodity price cycle, the evolution of macroeconomic imbalances and related infrastructure investment failures, and the impact of weak state capacity and corruption. Thereafter, the chapter outlines a number of strategic policy interventions for overcoming constraints to inclusive economic growth in South Africa.

2021 ◽  
pp. 46-65
Author(s):  
Bill Freund ◽  
Vishnu Padayachee

This chapter addresses the unfolding economic history of South Africa in the apartheid era (1948–94). The chapter is organized according to a periodization with 1971–73 as a marker of the break, and along specific thematic lines. These include a discussion of the way in which this history has been studied and through what theoretical lenses, before engaging with the main issues, including the impact of Afrikaner nationalism on economic growth, the way in which the minerals energy sector, which dominated early perspectives of South African economic history and perspectives, is impacted in this era of National Party rule. An analysis of the role of one major corporation (Anglo American Corporation) in shaping this economic history is followed by an assessment of the impact of the global and local crisis after c.1970 on the South African economy. An abiding theme is that of race and economic development and the way in which the impact of this key relationship of apartheid South Africa on economic growth has been studied.


Author(s):  
Darma Mahadea ◽  
Irrshad Kaseeram

Background: South Africa has made significant progress since the dawn of democracy in 1994. It registered positive economic growth rates and its real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita increased from R42 849 in 1994 to over R56 000 in 2015. However, employment growth lagged behind GDP growth, resulting in rising unemployment. Aim and setting: Entrepreneurship brings together labour and capital in generating income, output and employment. According to South Africa’s National Development Plan, employment growth would come mainly from small-firm entrepreneurship and economic growth. Accordingly, this article investigates the impact unemployment and per capita income have on early stage total entrepreneurship activity (TEA) in South Africa, using data covering the 1994–2015 period. Methods: The methodology used is the dynamic least squares regression. The article tests the assertion that economic growth, proxied by real per capita GDP income, promotes entrepreneurship and that high unemployment forces necessity entrepreneurship. Results: The regression results indicate that per capita real GDP, which increases with economic growth, has a highly significant, positive impact on entrepreneurial activity, while unemployment has a weaker effect. A 1% rise in real per capita GDP results in a 0.16% rise in TEA entrepreneurship, and a 1% rise in unemployment is associated with a 0.25% rise in TEA. Conclusion: There seems to be a strong pull factor, from income growth to entrepreneurship and a reasonable push from unemployment to entrepreneurship, as individuals without employment are forced to self-employment as a necessity, survival mechanism. Overall, a long-run co-integrating relationship seems plausible between unemployment, income and entrepreneurship in South Africa.


2021 ◽  
Vol 275 ◽  
pp. 01004
Author(s):  
Liu Ran

In this paper, using the panel data of the National Bureau of Statistics database from 2010 to 2019, and using the random effect model, we studied the impact of agricultural infrastructure investment on economic growth. The empirical results show that the investment in agricultural infrastructure can significantly improve the national economy, among which the investment in new infrastructure promotes the economic growth to a certain extent. After comparing the eastern, central and western regions, it is found that the investment in agricultural infrastructure in the western region contributes more to the economic growth, and the statistical results are more significant. Based on the analysis of the role of agricultural infrastructure investment in promoting economic growth, this paper will further discuss the relevant suggestions of the “two new and one heavy” policy in the agricultural field, and promote the adjustment of agricultural industrial structure with the improvement of agricultural infrastructure, and promote the formation of a new development pattern of “double circulation”.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Buabeng ◽  
Opoku Adabor ◽  
Elizabeth Nana-Amankwaah

Abstract The main objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of lending rate on economic growth in Ghana. To do this, we employ the autoregressive distributed lags model (ARDL) and the Toda and Yamamoto (1995) causal approach as estimation strategy. The estimates from the ARDL model suggest that ceteris paribus one percent increase in lending rate generates approximately 0.15 decrease in economic growth of Ghana in the long. In the short run, one percent increase in lending rate also generates approximately 0.112 percent decrease in economic growth. Contrary to the widespread belief that lending rate induce economic growth, we find that gross domestic product rather spurs lending rate, using Toda and Yamamoto (1995) causal approach. Our findings suggest that monetary authorities should embark on policy interventions that aim at taming lending rate towards growth enhancing targets. This will encourage individuals, firms and other institutions to borrow from commercial banks to increase investment and consumption to accelerate economic growth. Other policy interventions include strengthening inflation targeting policy to reduce and stabilize inflation while taming exchange rate, monetary policy and treasury bill rate towards economic growth enhancing targets.


2021 ◽  
Vol 251 ◽  
pp. 01101
Author(s):  
Yiqian Tan ◽  
Fan Jiang

In recent years, China’s economic growth speed has been slowing down, leading to the problems of overcapacity and unbalanced regional economic development, and the mismatch between industrial and financial structure is becoming intense. This paper, starting with the relationship among economic growth, industrial structure and financial structure, summarizes the research by the former scholars. On this basis, by using data of 31 provincial panel data in China from 2007 to 2016, the article aims to find out the relationship between the industrial structure and economic growth, the relationship between the financial structure and economic growth and the relationship between the interaction of financial and industrial structure and economic growth. Finally, the conclusions of this paper are obtained that the interaction between the financial structure and the industrial structure can promote the economic growth significantly. However, the matching effect of the financial structure and industrial structure in China has not been completely formed, and the industrial upgrading should be guided to be structurally reformed through the policy.


1987 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 33-54
Author(s):  
Owen Ellison Kahn

This Article Assesses the impact of the Cuban military on strategic, diplomatic and political relationships in southern Africa. It does not deal with why Cuba and its Soviet benefactor have interested themselves in the region, nor does it discuss Soviet influence on Cuban foreign policy. The aspects covered here include: (1) how Cuba and Angola fit into the complex pattern of regional relations in southern Africa; (2) an outline of the region's main territorial actors and guerrilla movements, along with a brief history of Cuban involvement in the area; (3) the response of South Africa to this foreign spoiler of its regional hegemony, (4) regional cooperation in southern Africa insofar as it is a response to South Africa's militancy in the face of international communism as represented in the region by Cuba; and (5) Cuba's effect upon the economy and polity of Angola and Mozambique.


2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 655-671
Author(s):  
Joyman Lee

Where Imperialism Could Not Reachexamines the impact of the Japanese model of industrialization on China through a history of policy recommendations and economic ideas in practice. In the aftermath of the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), Chinese regional policymakers learned a Japanese-style industrial policy that focused on the use of exhibitions and schools to disseminate information and stimulate rural innovation. In focusing on the treaty ports and the impact of European and American capitalism that has a larger and more quantifiable source base, many scholars have ignored the vital intra-Asian dimensions of China’s economic development, underpinned by shared position of China and Japan on the global semiperiphery and the pursuit of labor-intensive industrialization focusing on improvements to labor quality. The dissertation also aims to demonstrate the primary importance of information and incentives for innovation—rather than overcoming capital constraints—in Chinese strategies for economic growth.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2847 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanfu Jin ◽  
Chunshan Zhou ◽  
Lijia Luo

Regional industrial structure and land use patterns differ between the different stages of development, and the impact of land input on economic growth may vary. On the basis of land supply data obtained from http://www.landchina.com/ for 2010–2015, this study used an econometric model to explore the impact of land input on the economic growth of Chinese cities and regions at the different stages of development. Empirical results show that the development of 352 cities and regions in China in 2015 can be divided into five stages; namely, primary production stage (PPS), primary industrialization stage (PIS), middle industrialization stage (MIS), later industrialization stage (LIS), and developed stage (DS). The economic growth of cities and regions at the LIS or DS was significantly dependent on capital and labor input rather than land input. The land input of cities and regions at PPS, PIS, and MIS significantly promoted economic growth. This article enriches the study of regional economic growth and is beneficial to further understanding of the impact of land input on the economic growth of China.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 11138
Author(s):  
Huan Zhang

This study selects the panel data of five BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) from 1990 to 2019 to empirically explore the impact of technological innovation and economic growth on carbon emissions under the context of carbon neutrality. Granger causality test results signify that there exists a one-way causality from technology patent to carbon emission and from economic growth to carbon emission. We also constructed an improved Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) model. The regression results manifest that technology patents contribute to the realization of carbon emission reduction and carbon neutralization, while the economic growth of emerging economies represented by BRICS countries significantly improves carbon emissions, but every single BRICS country shows differentiated carbon emissions conditions with their economic development stages. The impact of the interaction term on carbon emissions for the five BRICS countries also presents country-specific heterogeneity. Moreover, the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) test results show that only Russia and South Africa have an inverted U-shaped curve relationship between economic growth and carbon emissions, whereas Brazil, India and China have a U-shaped curve relationship. There exists no EKC relationship when considering BRICS nations as a whole. Further robustness tests also verify that the conclusions obtained in this paper are consistent and stable. Finally, the paper puts forward relevant policy suggestions based on the research findings.


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