scholarly journals Commonwealth Games: can Africa afford the games?

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-62
Author(s):  
Musa Gumede ◽  
Vusi Mazibuko ◽  
Pumela Msweli

The Commonwealth Games Federation recently awarded the hosting of the 2022 Games to Durban, South Africa. This will be the first time the Games are hosted in the African continent. The paper looks into whether tangible benefits for hosting mega-events are less or more important than intangible benefits. In investigating this issue, the paper takes a political geography theoretical stance for its ability to provide normative ideological content for explaining intangible and tangible values for hosting Commonwealth Games. The paper looks at pros and cons for investing in mega-event infrastructure and also looks at the cost of hosting the Games for cities. The 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi budgeted $240 million for the entire Games, but the actual costs after the Games were found to be $1.7 billion. Similarly, in 2014 Glasgow, the cost of the Games was calculated at £575 million ($690 million). The paper looks at whether South Africa as the 2022 Commonwealth Games host can afford the games. It also considers the impact of the Games on national identity, national pride and patriotism here identified as novelty values that preserve social cohesion, a social attribute that has to be in place to build a robust economy. The paper concludes by noting that the success of the Games will depend on deliberate investment in catalytic facilities in areas that will be sustained post event. The amount of novelty value generated out of the Commonwealth Games will depend on how successful the Games are and on how the communities are able to interact with the facilities post event.

Author(s):  
Mark Blaxill ◽  
Toby Rogers ◽  
Cynthia Nevison

AbstractThe cost of ASD in the U.S. is estimated using a forecast model that for the first time accounts for the true historical increase in ASD. Model inputs include ASD prevalence, census population projections, six cost categories, ten age brackets, inflation projections, and three future prevalence scenarios. Future ASD costs increase dramatically: total base-case costs of $223 (175–271) billion/year are estimated in 2020; $589 billion/year in 2030, $1.36 trillion/year in 2040, and $5.54 (4.29–6.78) trillion/year by 2060, with substantial potential savings through ASD prevention. Rising prevalence, the shift from child to adult-dominated costs, the transfer of costs from parents onto government, and the soaring total costs raise pressing policy questions and demand an urgent focus on prevention strategies.


Author(s):  
Ilia Kuchin ◽  
Mariia Elkina ◽  
Yury Dranev

This study is dedicated to estimating the impact of currency risk on the cost of equity in Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa. Our contribution to the literature is that we obtain further evidence on pricing of exchange rate risk in developing countries which for now is quite scarce. These motivates our research which is dedicated to BRICS capital markets with Chinese stock market excluded since it is heavily regulated. The aim of the research is to determine whether in emerging countries stock markets currency risk is a significant factor that influence cost of equity capital of a company. Changes in the value of exchange rate can impact cash flows of a firm and their riskiness, hence, the value of the company. In our research we will discuss the influence of exchange rate movements on the value of the firm through their impact on the cost of equity. Specifically, we investigate whether companies that report substantial currency gains or losses have to pay a higher required return on equity. Furthermore, in this study we take an attempt to estimate currency risk premia for exposure to appreciation and depreciation of currency separately and identify possible differences. For each country three models that extend Fama-French Three Factor Model by incorporating currency risk are estimated. We used equal-weighted portfolio approach to construction currency risk factors. They are estimated using information about the ratio of currency gains to sales or the magnitude of covariation between equity returns and exchange rate changes. In the second case appreciation and depreciation of domestic currency against US dollar is considered separately. Results indicate that in Russia firms which report substantial currency losses pay a positive risk premium, while in Brazil, India and South Africa companies with significantly positive or negative currency gains pay a lower required return on equity than firms with almost zero currency gains. Finally, we are trying to explain estimation results using sectoral breakdown of product exports in each country of data sample.


2003 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 627-640
Author(s):  
D. H. Tustin ◽  
J. W. Strydom

Sound record-keeping of advertising expenditure figures in South Africa allows for a relative accurate assessment of the impact of advertising expenditure at national, industry and company level. However, the overall composition of marketing communication expenditure is nowadays affected by the continuous increase of promotion expenditure at the cost of advertising. Unfortunately, record-keeping abilities on promotion expenditure figures trails that of advertising. Consequently, the study aims to collect data on advertising and promotion expenditure simultaneously. Such information is highly valued by marketing practitioners in planning annual advertising and promotional budgets. To add further value to the analysis, some international comparisons are made.


2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 774-787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tshepo Morokong ◽  
James Blignaut ◽  
Nonophile Nkambule ◽  
Shepherd Mudhavanhu ◽  
Thulile Vundla

Invasive alien plants have a negative impact on ecosystem goods and services derived from ecosystems. Consequently, the aggressive spread of invasive alien plants (IAPs) in the river catchments of South Africa is a major threat to, inter alia, water security. The Olifants River catchment is one such a catchment that is under pressure because of the high demand for water from mainly industrial sources and unsustainable land-use, which includes IAPs. This study considered the cost-effectiveness of clearing IAPs and compared these with the cost of a recently constructed dam. The methods used for data collection were semistructured interviews, site observation, desktop data analysis, and a literature review to assess the impact of IAPs on the catchment’s water supply. The outcomes of this study indicate that clearing invasive alien plants is a cost-effective intervention with a Unit Reference Value (URV) of R1.44/m3, which compares very favourably with that of the De Hoop dam, the URV for which is R2.93/m3. These results suggest that clearing invasive alien plants is a cost-effective way of catchment management, as the opportunity cost of not doing so (forfeiting water to the value of R2.93/m3) is higher than that of protecting the investment in the dam.


Author(s):  
Shantayanan Devarajan ◽  
Delfin S Go ◽  
Sherman Robinson ◽  
Karen Thierfelder

Abstract Noting that developing countries may not have the administrative capacity to levy a “pure” carbon tax, we compare the impact of alternative energy taxes with that of a carbon tax in an economy with multiple distortions. We use a disaggregated computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of the South African economy and simulate a range of tax policies that reduce CO2 emissions by 15 percent. Consistent with a “first-best” economy, a carbon tax will have the lowest marginal cost of abatement. But the relationship between a tax on energy commodities and one on pollution-intensive commodities depends critically on other distortions in the system and on structural rigidities in the economy. We demonstrate that if South Africa were able to remove distortions in the labor market, the cost of carbon taxation would be negligible. We conclude that the welfare costs of taxing carbon emissions in developing countries depend more on other distortions than on the country’s own carbon emissions.


2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney Ragwan

John Rangiah was the first Indian Baptist missionary who came to Natal (today called KwaZulu-Natal). He was born in India in 1866 and died in 1915. He established the first Telugu Baptist Church on the African continent in Kearsney, Natal. In the corpus of South African Baptist mission literature, the contribution of John Rangiah is given very little attention. Although he is referenced by Baptist historians for his work amongst Indian Baptists, the impact of the Bible and Bible themes as well as his theology in South Africa have not been examined. This article provides insight into Rangiah�s early life and faith, and critically examines his understanding of the Bible and its themes, such as the Bible, prayer, salvation and eschatological hope. These themes will be critically examined from a conservative evangelical perspective and thereafter attempts to examine these using elements of post-colonial hermeneutics will be undertaken.


Author(s):  
Yu Kun Wang ◽  
Xiaoyong Zhang

Carbon emissions exacerbate global climate change. Transitioning away from coal is a cost-effective path to a low-carbon economy. Although many articles have considered the issue of manufacturers' production and emission of pollution. Few papers have discussed the impact of environmental tax and fuel tax on the cost of environmental degradation. This paper seeks to fill this gap by developing a theoretical model to discuss the relationship between environmental pollution and economic growth. Furthermore, in order to support the theoretical results and testify the relationship between carbon emissions and taxation, we take South Africa as a case for discussing the effect of environmental taxation and fuel levy on firms' carbon emissions. We show that the impact of environmental taxes on carbon dioxide emissions is greater than that of fuel taxes on carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, we find that the GDP level of South Africa is on the left of the inflection points of Kuznets Curve. In other words, the current growth of South Africa's economy is at the cost of worsening the environmental degradation.


2021 ◽  

Maringe ought to be commended for putting together an invaluable contribution to our understanding of research into a complex education system in South Africa. This volume provides a useful foundation to the current state of education quality in South Africa including the impact of interventions. It also brings to the fore challenges still facing education transformation. The evidence presented which, taken together, lays out a coherent view of how improvements could be made. Albert Chanee Head of Planning, Gauteng Department of Education For too long the weight of educational scholarship produced in South Africa has been limited to that simple and standard form called the literature review. Now, for the first time, education researchers are provided with an African-based text on the concepts and methods of conducting systematic reviews. In this exceptional work of editorship, Felix Maringe brings together some of the leading researchers on South African education to model and demonstrate how to review a significant body of research on a chosen topic which is adjudicated strictly on the basis of the quality and efficacy of the evidence in hand. I have no doubt that this remarkable book will become a standard reference for educational researchers in and beyond the African continent. It will also lift the quality of educational inquiry by equipping a new generation of scholars with the capacity for doing evidence-based research that compels the attention of policymakers, planners and practitioners alike. Prof Jonathan Jansen Stellenbosch University


Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4838 (3) ◽  
pp. 427-435
Author(s):  
WILMA J. NEL ◽  
Z. WILHELM DE BEER ◽  
MICHAEL J. WINGFIELD ◽  
TUAN A. DUONG

Xylosandrus crassiusculus (Motchulsky) is a native Asian ambrosia beetle that has been accidentally introduced to many countries of the world, presumably through the international movement of nursery, timber, and wood products. The species is known in various tropical African countries but only as far south as Tanzania on the African continent. In this study, we report X. crassiusculus and its fungal symbiont for the first time from South Africa. The species was identified using both morphological characters and COI sequence data. Xylosandrus crassiusculus were obtained from three different provinces of South Africa and represent two distinct haplotypes. The fungal symbiont, Ambrosiella roeperi, was isolated and identified using DNA sequencing and morphological characterization. 


Cliometrica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Facundo Alvaredo ◽  
A. B. Atkinson

AbstractThere have been important studies of recent income inequality and of poverty in South Africa, but very little is known about the long-run trends over time. There is speculation about the extent of inequality when the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, but no hard evidence. In this paper, we provide evidence that is partial—being confined to top incomes—but which for the first time shows how the income distribution changed on a (near) annual basis from 1913 onwards. We present estimates of the shares in total income of groups such as the top 1% and the top 0.1%, covering the period from colonial times to the twenty-first century. For a number of years during the apartheid period, we have data classified by race. The estimates for recent years bear out the picture of South Africa as a highly unequal country, but allow this to be placed in historical and international context. The time series presented here will, we hope, provide the basis for detailed investigation of the impact of South African institutions and policies, past and present. But the similarity of the changes over time in top incomes across the four ex-dominions suggests that national developments have to be seen in the light of common global forces.


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