scholarly journals The South African government's response to COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 797-811 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charl de Villiers ◽  
Dannielle Cerbone ◽  
Wayne Van Zijl
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health Response ◽  
The Government ◽  
To Come

PurposeThis paper provides a critical analysis of the South African government's response to the COVID-19 crisis and its effect on state finances and budgets.Design/methodology/approachThe paper critically analyses publicly available data.FindingsThe South African government's initial health response was praised by the international community, given the early lockdown and extensive testing regime. The lockdown devastated an already precarious economy, which led to negative social consequences. The initial lockdown delayed the epidemic, but subsequently, the infection rate climbed, requiring new restrictions, suggesting further economic disruption. The government has had to increase its borrowings, while the future tax take is forecast to be significantly reduced, a combination which will lead to a severely constrained public purse for many years to come. This will limit the government's ability to address the basic social needs that predated the COVID-19 crisis.Originality/valueThis is one of the first academic papers to critically assess the effect of the South African government's response to the COVID-19 crisis on state finances and budgets.

The South African public service wage bill deadlock in 2021: living on the edge

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Marianne Matthee ◽  
Albert Wöcke
Keyword(s):  
Fiscal Policy ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Level ◽  
Finance Minister ◽  
The Government

Subject area Macro-Economics. Study level/applicability Undergraduate and MBA. Case overview The COVID 19 pandemic-related restrictions devastated South Africa’s economy in 2020 and although the restrictions were generally less damaging than in 2020, the government had to budget for vaccinations and rebuild the economy. Public service unions had just announced that they were demanding an increase of 4% above inflation for their members and that they were preparing for a strike. They were bitter about the fact that the South African Government had withdrawn from the last year of a three-year wage agreement in February 2020 and their members had not received an increase for the two years. These demands and Finance Minister Mboweni’s response to them had to consider the structural and cyclical impact on the fiscus and economy. Expected learning outcomes The learning outcomes are as follows: understand the general objectives of fiscal policy and stakeholders’ interests; understand the tradeoffs in fiscal policy and the implications of taking a position; and make recommendations based on reasoned judgements about those recommendations. Complexity academic level Undergraduate and MBA level courses on Macro Economics. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 10: Public Sector Management.

Robustness of the Carhart four-factor and the Fama-French three-factor models on the South African stock market

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Addai Boamah
Keyword(s):  
Stock Market ◽  
South African ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
The South ◽  
Gross Domestic Product Growth ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
Three Factor ◽  
Future Growth ◽  
French Model

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore the applicability of the Fama–French and Carhart models on the South African stock market (SASM). It examines the ability of the models to capture size, book-to-market (BM) and momentum effects on the SASM. The paper, additionally, explores the ability of the Fama–French–Carhart factors to predict the future growth of the South African economy. Design/methodology/approach – The paper relies on data of 848 firms from January 1996 to April 2012 to examine the size, BM and momentum effects on the SASM. The paper constructs the test assets from a 3 × 3 sort on size and BM and a 3 × 3 sort on size and momentum. The paper estimates momentum as the past six-months’ cumulative return. The momentum portfolios are monthly rebalanced. Additionally, the size and BM portfolios are formed annually at the end of each June. Findings – Evidence is provided that size, BM and momentum effects exist on the SASM; also, the small- and high-BM firm portfolios, respectively, appear riskier than the big- and low-BM firm portfolios. The paper provides evidence of past winners outperforming past losers aside from the small-firm group. Additionally, the models only partially capture the size and value effects on the SASM. The Carhart model partly captures the momentum effects, but the Fama–French model is unable to describe the returns to the momentum-sorted portfolios. The evidence shows that the models’ factors predict future gross domestic product growth. Originality/value – The models do not fully describe returns on the SASM; any application of the models on the SASM should be done with caution. The Carhart model better describes returns than the Fama–French model on the SASM. The Fama–French–Carhart factors may relate to the underlying economic risk of the South African economy.

South African economy faces severe recession in 2020

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Financial Markets ◽  
South African ◽  
Bond Market ◽  
The South ◽  
Bond Prices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Borrowing Costs ◽  
Reserve Bank ◽  
The Government ◽  
Severe Recession

Significance The announcement will put further pressure on South Africa’s already stressed financial markets. The rand and bond prices fell sharply yesterday, raising questions about whether the downgrade had indeed already been priced in by the market. Impacts The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) may have to take further measures in the coming weeks to stabilise markets. The recent bond market crash means that borrowing costs will go up across the economy and will weigh on banks' ability to fund customers. The government and the SARB will likely be forced soon to unveil further measures to support businesses and the growing unemployed.

The South African chartered accountant academic

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip de Jager ◽  
Ilse Lubbe ◽  
Elmarie Papageorgiou
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Full Professor ◽  
The South ◽  
Professional Qualification ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Primary Responsibility ◽  
Chartered Accountants

Purpose Accounting academics in the South African system understand their primary responsibility to be the teaching of prospective Chartered Accountants (CAs) rather than the advancement of knowledge through research. The purpose of this study is to determine what factors motivate accounting academics who are CAs to obtain doctorates in an environment dominated by the profession, where promotion is possible to Full Professor without a Doctorate but not without the professional qualification of CA. And did these doctoral CAs face challenges on their journey, such as resistance from colleagues? Design/methodology/approach A total of 22 academic CAs with doctorates and 18 academic CAs studying towards doctorates were surveyed to gain a deeper understanding of who they are, what their motivations were for undertaking the doctorate journey and what they experienced. Findings The main finding of this study is that the culture of accounting departments in South Africa is beginning to shift from being teaching orientated towards being more research orientated. The CAs are pursuing doctorates for the purpose of career progression and for intrinsic personal reasons. The main challenges that they faced on their journey were finding the time for family and a social life and a lack of support from colleagues and their institution. However, support seems to be improving. Research limitations/implications The change to a research-orientated culture in South African departments of accounting, as envisioned by Van der Schyf (2008), is only now starting to take place. These CAs with doctorates provide evidence of that change. Originality/value The value of this study is to provide accounting academics and the profession with a better understanding of, and a greater sensitivity to, accounting academics operating under the influence of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA). The study also adds to the limited amount of literature on the motives and experiences of doctoral students, especially accounting doctoral students.

Biodiversity reporting practices of the South African national parks

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Buchling ◽  
Warren Maroun
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Species At Risk ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reporting Practices

Purpose This paper aims to explore the biodiversity reporting by a state-owned entity responsible for conserving and protecting biodiversity assets in South Africa, the South African National Parks (SANParks) (SOC) Limited. Design/methodology/approach This study uses content analysis to explore and investigate the disclosure themes in the SANParks reports for the period 2013–2017. The frequency of substantive disclosures is also evaluated over a five-year period. The data are presented graphically in frequency charts and supported by descriptive statistics and univariate correlations for non-normal data. This provides insights into the amount of information being disclosed and the interconnections among biodiversity reporting themes. Findings SANParks has increased its reporting on biodiversity over time. Disclosures are interconnected and deal with a range of issues, including species at risk of extinction, operational considerations, risk management practices and how SANParks evaluates its environmental performance. The information is detailed and included in different parts of the organisation’s annual reports suggesting a genuine commitment to protecting biodiversity. There are areas for improvement but SANParks frames biodiversity as a central part of its strategy, operations and assurance processes something which would not occur if the disclosures were only about managing impressions. Originality/value The study is among the first to explore biodiversity disclosure themes in a state-owned entity in Africa, responsible for the conservation. While the study deals with a specific case entity, the findings are broadly applicable for other organisations keen on constructing a biodiversity account.

scholarly journals Monopoly behavior of China’s manufacturing enterprises

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-179
Author(s):  
Guidong Wang
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Rent Seeking ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Manufacturing Enterprises ◽  
Slow Decline ◽  
State Capital ◽  
The Government ◽  
Do So ◽  
Initial Jump

Purpose With the increase of state capital, corporate total factor productivity (TFP) has a tendency to jump up at first and then slowly decrease. Generally, no significant “productivity paradox” can be observed in China’s manufacturing industry. With the increase of export density, corporate TFP also shows a trend of initial jump growth and subsequent slow decline. This paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach Using the 1996–2013 China Industrial Enterprise Database, this paper studies the monopolistic behavior of Chinese manufacturing enterprises through the measurement of TFP and corporate monopoly power. Findings Results show that China’s manufacturing monopoly enterprises are generally innovation-oriented rather than rent-seeking. However, there are certain differences between diversified types of monopoly enterprises: the ones with state capital are more inclined to innovate than those without, whereas the ones with export delivery value are more inclined to seek rent than those without. Originality/value Therefore, the government should implement differentiated policies for diversified types of monopoly enterprises, and do so in a targeted manner fully reflecting the containment of rent-seeking and the encouragement of innovation.

scholarly journals Kerk en owerheid binne ’n regstaat. Die profetiese roeping van die kerk met betrekking tot die Suid-Afrikaanse owerheid

2000 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Vorster ◽  
J.H. Van Wyk
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Theoretical Argument ◽  
The South ◽  
African Government ◽  
Constitutional State ◽  
African Context ◽  
The Government ◽  
Just Society ◽  
The Church

Church and government within a constitutional state. The prophetic calling of the church towards the South-African government With the transition to a new political dispensation in South Africa, a constitutional state has been established. A typical characteristic of this new dispensation is that the government remains neutral while the executive powers are subject to the Bill of Human Rights. The question of how the church can realize its prophetic task towards the government within the context of a constitutional state is highlighted in this article. The central theoretical argument is that a constitutional state that acknowledges fundamental rights provides an excellent opportunity for the church to fulfil its prophetic calling within the South African context. The church can contribute to a just society by prophetic testimony within the perspective of the kingdom of God.

Challenges to economic integration and social inclusion of Syrian refugees in Turkey

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-18
Author(s):  
Christina Bache
Keyword(s):  
Economic Integration ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Syrian Refugees ◽  
Independent Research ◽  
Humanitarian Crisis ◽  
Local Dynamics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Government

Purpose The following question drove this research: Would the pursuit of a rights-based approach, one that considers local dynamics and political sensitivities result in greater economic integration and social inclusion of Syrian refugees in Turkey? The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach This piece draws on independent research the author conducted in Turkey and other frontline states to the war in Syria from 2016 to 2018. Findings Despite a shift in government policy toward Syrian refugees, without an overarching rights-based approach that includes the participation of all stakeholders and considers local dynamics and political sensitivities, enhancing the livelihood security of Syrian refugees and vulnerable members of host communities remains bleak in Turkey. Originality/value This original paper closely examines the Government of Turkey’s response to the humanitarian crisis that was precipitated by the armed conflict in Syria. The paper also examines the socioeconomic dynamics and increased tensions between the Syrian refugee and host communities.

Agripreneurship development: a strategy for revamping Nigeria’s economy from recession

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 474-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Innocent Otache
Keyword(s):  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Current Economic Crisis ◽  
Leadership Failure ◽  
Oil Sector ◽  
The Government ◽  
Creativity And Innovation ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore agripreneurship development as a strategy for economic growth and development. Design/methodology/approach Though a few related literature were reviewed, this paper relies heavily on the author’s viewpoint regarding how Nigeria can grow and develop its economy through agripreneurship development. Findings The present economic challenges that Nigeria is facing are blamed on overdependence on the oil sector, bad governance, corruption, leadership failure, policy inconsistency, overdependence on imported goods and ostensible neglect of the agricultural sector. Also, policymakers, economic analysts and the government have advocated strongly for diversification of the economy. Besides, there is a consensus among scholars, economic analysts and policymakers that “agriculture is the answer.” Research limitations/implications This paper addresses specifically one sector of the economy – the agricultural sector. On the other hand, economic crisis needs to be addressed holistically by resolving specific issues that confront different sectors of the economy. Practical implications This paper has some insightful policy and practical implications for the Nigerian Government and Nigerians. The government and Nigerians need to take practical steps to grow and develop the economy. On the part of the government, apart from the need to transform the agricultural sector by allocating enough funds to it, the government should establish well-equipped agripreneurship development centers and organize periodically agripreneurship development programmes for the main purpose of training and developing both current and potential agripreneurs who will be able to apply today’s agricultural techniques and practices which involve a great deal of creativity and innovation for a successful agribusiness. The federal government should integrate agripreneurship education into Nigeria’s education system. Similarly, the Nigerian people, particularly the youths or graduates should be encouraged to choose agribusiness as a career. Originality/value While previous papers have offered different solutions to the current economic crisis that Nigeria is experiencing, ranging from economic to structural reforms, this paper differs significantly from others by recommending specifically agripreneurship development as a strategy for revamping Nigeria’s economy from its current recession. Moreover, there is a dearth of literature on agripreneurship and agripreneurship development. This paper therefore fills the literature gap.

South African government’s GBV plans may disappoint

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
South African ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Structure ◽  
National Strategic Plan ◽  
The Government ◽  
Gender Based

Significance Although President Cyril Ramaphosa has publicly committed to increase funding to combat what he calls South Africa’s “second pandemic”, there is a lack of transparency in how the government disburses funds linked to its National Strategic Plan (NSP) on Gender-based Violence and Femicide. Impacts Civil society groups will increase pressure on the government to make expenditure on GBV programmes more transparent. A new private-sector fund to contribute to the NSP has received strong early support, but its management structure is opaque. High levels of GBV will not only have significant humanitarian and social costs but may deter much-needed foreign investment.

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