scholarly journals Local economic development agencies and place-based development: Evidence from South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (41) ◽  
pp. 29-43
Author(s):  
Faith Lawrence ◽  
Christian M. Rogerson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
South African ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Global South ◽  
Institutional Constraints ◽  
African Experience ◽  
Economic Development Agencies ◽  
Development Agencies

Abstract Local economic development agencies (LEDAs) are increasingly important actors in place-based local economic development particularly in the global South. In South Africa there has been an expanded role for LEDAs in terms of the policy significance of local economic development. Although considerable research has been undertaken concerning the merits, challenges and contributions of LED in South Africa only limited material is available concerning the institutional and organisational arrangements to support the implementation of LED. Using policy documents, close engagement with the key national policy-making government departments and a national survey of the activities, operational challenges, and institutional constraints facing LEDAs, the findings from this investigation provide new insight into their role in place-based development. From the unfolding South African experience the strategic establishment of LEDAs potentially can contribute to maximizing the efficiency of place-based strategies. Arguably, key findings confirm the important contribution that LEDAs can make to locality development in the global South albeit that contribution is influenced by context realities.

scholarly journals Local economic development agencies and peripheral small town development: Evidence from Somerset East, South Africa

Urbani izziv ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol Supplement (30) ◽  
pp. 144-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faith Lawrence ◽  
Christian M. Rogerson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Small Town ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Strong Dependence ◽  
Developmental State ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Economic Development Agencies ◽  
Development Agencies

The activities of Local Economic Development Agencies (LEDAs) represent a channel for place-based development. In South Africa national government has supported the expansion of LEDAs to improve the weak performance of local economic development planning, one of the cornerstones of the developmental state. This article investigates the evolution and operations of a small town LEDA which is situated in one of South Africa’s peripheral regions. The local development facilitation and project work undertaken by the Blue Crane Development Agency (BCDA) in the small town of Somerset East in Eastern Cape Province is discussed. It is shown that this LEDA was innovative in development initiatives which were launched during the period 2004- 2014 for Somerset East and its surrounds. In terms of the projects and operations of BCDA considerable effort was made to identify catalytic opportunities and to support the unlocking of projects in this small town through development facilitation and project management. Nevertheless, the evidence from this case study demonstrates that despite successes, development agencies in South Africa have a strong dependence on parent municipalities which can determine the future direction and sustainability of LEDAs.

Assessing the role of Local Economic Development Agencies in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 438-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isaac Khambule ◽  
Oliver Mtapuri
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Implementation Problem ◽  
Economic Development Agencies ◽  
Development Agencies ◽  
Development Structure

There is a growing recognition of the role of subnational institutions in addressing some of the foremost developmental challenges that South Africa is facing; however, subnational institutions have been mired in inefficiencies and capacity challenges in leading local development. This has led to the establishment of Local Economic Development Agencies as institutions which were expected to give impetus to local economic development and accelerate local government’s responses to unemployment, poverty and inequalities. Yet little is known about the efficiency of Local Economic Development Agencies in addressing the key failures of local economic development. This article employed a qualitative approach in which semi-structured interviews were undertaken with key gatekeepers. The article assessed the roles and functions of Local Economic Development Agencies in addressing key local economic development failings through a case study of three Local Economic Development Agencies in South Africa. The results indicate that while Local Economic Development Agencies do solve the implementation problem, their efficiency is undermined by the lack of coordination of roles and functions in the local government-led development landscape. Furthermore, the roles and functions of Local Economic Development Agencies are limited, constrained and do not necessarily adhere to the premise that led to their establishment. Local Economic Development Agencies thus lack the appropriate legitimate mandate to be the main economic development structure, due to their own inherent capacities.

scholarly journals Power laws, demography and entrepreneurship in selected South African regions

2018 ◽  
Vol 114 (5/6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daan Toerien
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
South African ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Power Laws ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Size Distributions ◽  
Skewed Distributions ◽  
Enterprise Growth ◽  
Different Parts

Statistically significant Pareto-like log-log rank-size distributions were recorded for population and enterprise agglomeration in the towns of three different regions of South Africa, and are indicative of skewed distributions of population and enterprise numbers in regional towns. There were no distinct differences between groups of towns of regions from different parts of the country. However, the regional agglomerations differed from those of groups of towns randomly selected from a database. Regions, therefore, appear to have some uniqueness regarding such agglomerations. The identification of Zipf-like links between population and enterprise growth in regional towns still does not fully explain why some towns grow large and others stay small and there is a need to further explore these issues. The extreme skewness in population and enterprise numbers of different towns’ distributions should, however, be considered in local economic development planning and execution.

Developmental State No Birth Right: South Africa’s Post-1994 Economic Development Story

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
T. K. Pooe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
South African ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Separation Of Powers ◽  
Developmental State ◽  
Law And Development ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Development Agenda ◽  
Legal Frameworks

AbstractThis paper explores how South Africa despite having one of the most lauded constitutions and legal frameworks in the world has been unable to advance as a developmental state in economic development and institutional building endeavours. The contention of this paper is that the South African government, prioritising law and development, did so at the expense of institutional building for economic development purposes. Law and development is conceptualised in this paper as States prioritising liberal actions such as separation of powers (judiciary, executive and legislature) and human rights. Consequently, this paper is not arguing against some of the tenants characterising the law and development agenda. Rather it asks, did South Africa lose its credentials as a possible developmental state by prioritising law and development initiatives over building developmental state institutions for local economic development purposes in particular? Ultimately, this paper contends that for South Africa to become a functional developmental state it needs to reconsider its constitutional/law and development aspirations, in favour of reconfiguring government institutions to prioritise economic development.

The role of Local Economic Development Agencies in South Africa’s developmental state ambitions

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isaac Khambule
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Developmental State ◽  
State Theory ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Economic Development Agencies ◽  
Development Agencies

South Africa’s Local Economic Development Agencies have emerged as appropriate institutional structures for advancing socio-economic development in the local government-led development landscape, due to the inability of local municipalities to lead local economic development. This shift signifies that South Africa is turning to local economic development strategies to address developmental challenges, such as poor socio-economic conditions (unemployment, poverty and inequality), by creating local development solutions and employment opportunities. This article utilises the developmental state theory to examine the role of Local Economic Development Agencies in South Africa’s aspirations of becoming a capable developmental state. While the developmental state literature is concerned with the central role of the state in economic development, this article extends the developmental state theory to the subnational level by arguing that the developmental local government is the local developmental state. In addition, the article locates Local Economic Development Agencies within the developmental state paradigm by showing that Local Economic Development Agencies were established as economic development coordinators at the subnational level to assist local government in addressing South Africa’s triple challenges. Although the roles and functions of South African Local Economic Development Agencies are aligned to the developmental state ideology, their developmental mandate is undermined by the lack of coordination within local institutions.

scholarly journals Reframing place-based economic development in South Africa: the example of local economic development

2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (24) ◽  
pp. 203-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian M. Rogerson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Green Economy ◽  
Dynamic Nature ◽  
Five Dimensions ◽  
National Economic ◽  
Framework Conditions

Abstract Local Economic Development (LED) planning is a place-based approach to development planning and increasingly significant across much of the global South. One of the key challenges facing LED planning is the necessity to adjust planning in relation to the dynamic nature of both international and national framework conditions. The purpose of this article is to show this challenge by examining the dynamic nature of the national policy environment impacting upon LED planning in South Africa, a country which has a relatively long history of LED planning. Five dimensions of the changing landscape of national economic development planning in South Africa are identified. These relate to (a) LED within the context of new national economic and development plans; (b) initiatives for reindustrialising the South African economy, the associated importance of localisation and promotion of the green economy; (c) changing programmes around small business development; (d) shifts in rural development interventions; and (e) the fluid spatial context within which LED planning as a form of placebased economic development is embedded.

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