Public Finance and Fiscal Policy in South Africa

This chapter explores the trajectory of post-apartheid fiscal policy, focusing on the growth, equity, and sustainability trends between 2009 and 2019. Buoyed by the commodity boom, the African National Congress governing party strengthened fiscal institutions, improving the credibility and solvency of fiscal policy in the first fourteen years after the democratic transition. The decade after the global financial crisis in 2008 saw declining potential growth rates, deteriorating terms of trade, the institutionalization of state capture during the Zuma administration until 2018, policy uncertainty, widespread electricity outages, and a burgeoning public-sector wage bill. Rising deficits, debt, and state-owned-enterprise contingent liabilities triggered austerity without genuine fiscal consolidation. The coronavirus pandemic amplified these unsustainable trends arising from deferred structural fiscal adjustment.

From He-Cession to She-Stimulus? The labor market impact of fiscal policy across gender

Men, especially those that are young and less educated, typically bear the brunt of recessions because of the stronger cyclicality of their employment and wages relative to women’s. We study the extent to which fiscal policy may offset or worsen these asymmetric effects across gender. Using micro-level data for the U.S. from the Current Population Survey, we find that the effects of fiscal policy shocks on labor market outcomes depend on the type of public expenditure. Women benefit most from increases in the government wage bill, while men are the main beneficiaries of higher investment spending. Our analysis further reveals that the fiscal component most efficient at closing gender gaps is least suitable for offsetting inequitable business cycle effects across other socioeconomic dimensions.

WAGE BILL AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF LEVEL 5 FAITH BASED HOSPITALS IN NAIROBI METROPOLITAN, KENYA

Purpose: The main objective of this study was to examine the effect of wage bills on financial performance of Level 5 faith based hospitals in Nairobi Metropolitan, Kenya. Materials and Methods: A descriptive survey was used in this study. The target population comprised of 6 Level 5 faith based hospitals, 30 staff members in Finance departments and 6 HR Managers. In total, the target population was 36. Census technique was used to select all the 36 respondents to participate in the study. Questionnaires were used to collect the data from the respondents whereas the financial statements were also obtained from the hospitals. Cross sectional technique was used to obtain data from the financial statements of the 6 Level 5 Faith Based Hospitals. Quantitative approach of analysis was used in the study whereby descriptive and inferential statistics were involved. The data was analyzed with the use of SPSS and summarized in frequencies and percentages. The summarized data was presented using figures and tables. Results: The findings showed that salaries affected the financial performance of the faith based hospitals to some extent. Provision of performance related incentives and allowances affect the financial performance of the faith based hospitals to a greater extent. Majority of the respondents were positive that wage policy has an effect on the financial performance of faith based hospitals. Basic salary (Beta=.298) and wage policy (Beta=.364) were found to be positively related to the financial performance of faith based hospitals. On the other hand, performance related incentives and allowances had a negative inverse association. It was also found that majority of the hospitals are providing a wage bill between 36-40%. This is fairly good because it is close to the internationally accepted wage bill percentage standard of 35%. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: Hospital wage bills should not exceed 40 per cent of the total revenue because it may lead to delayed payment of salaries or compromising some expenditure due to financial pressure.

South African government faces public-sector showdown

Significance The negotiations follow the government’s refusal last year to pay the final annual tranche of a previous three-year deal. Containing the public-sector wage bill is seen as key for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration to rein in a spiralling debt burden. Impacts The three main rating agencies may postpone their next assessments until the wage talks gain greater clarity. Government firmness in the face of union demands could undermine Ramaphosa’s hold on the ruling ANC. With unions in a weak political position, they may have to stomach government intransigence due to lack of alternatives to Ramaphosa. Substantial concessions to unions would be divisive amid difficult budgetary choices such as below-inflation increases on social grants.

Labor Productivity as an Indicator of Efficiency Interaction of Higher Education and Tourism Business

The development of the tourism industry is directly related to the training and retraining, professional development of tourist personnel, as it is an update of the theoretical and practical knowledge of staff in accordance with the increasing requirements of the market economy. This article examines the possibilities of increasing labor productivity due to the influence of the tourist business sector on the sphere of higher education. The purpose of this study is to substantiate the interaction of universities and the tourism business sector to increase labor productivity in Kazakhstan as an indicator of the competitiveness of the tourism industry and the higher education sector. The article presents the results of models of multi-factor analysis to study the relationship and influence of some indicators of education and science on the labor productivity of the tourist business sector and academic productivity in Kazakhstan. According to the analysis, the most significant factors are the financing of higher education and the wage fund of universities. The study concludes that the interaction of higher education institutions with the tourism business will increase the financial income of universities that provide services to the tourism business, which, in turn, will improve the ability of universities to increase wage bill to motivate scientists to interact with the tourism business.

Unlocking fiscal space of expanding the health workforce in district health systems in Uganda in the context of PEPFAR transition

Although expanding fiscal space for health worker recruitments could reduce workforce shortages in Sub-Saharan Africa, effective strategies for achieving this are still unclear. We aimed to understand the process of transitioning health workers (HWs) from PEPFAR to Government of Uganda (GoU) payrolls and to explore the facilitators and barriers encountered in increasing domestic financial responsibility for absorbing this transitioned workforce. We conducted a multiple case-study of 10 (out of 87) districts in Uganda which received PEPFAR support between 2013 and 2015 to expand their health workforce. We purposively selected eight districts with the highest absorption rates (‘High absorbers’) and two with the lowest absorption rates (‘Low absorbers’). A total of 66 interviews were conducted with high-level officials in three Ministries of Finance, Health and Public Service (n = 14), representatives of PEPFAR implementing organizations (n = 16), District Health Teams (n = 15) and facility managers (n = 22). Twelve focus groups were conducted with 87 HWs absorbed on GoU payrolls. We utilized the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to guide thematic analysis. At sub-national level, facilitators of transition in ‘high absorber’ districts were identified as the presence of transition ‘champions’, prioritizing HWs in district wage bill commitments, host facilities providing ‘bridge financing’ to transition workforce during salary delays and receiving donor technical support in district wage bill analysis- attributes which were absent in ‘low absorber’ districts. At national-level, multi-sectoral engagements (incorporating the influential Ministry of Finance), developing a joint transition road map, aligning with GoU salary scales and recruitment processes emerged as facilitators of the transition process. Overall, PEPFAR support acted as a catalyst for increasing GoU and facility-level budget allocations towards expanding the health workforce in focus districts in Uganda. Our case-studies offer implementation research lessons on effective donor transition and insights into pragmatic strategies for expanding fiscal space for health in a low-income setting.

Financing shortfall will push Oman to uneasy austerity

Significance A fiscal crunch exacerbated by the pandemic and associated oil-price crash has forced the authorities to step up long-term ‘Omanisation’ efforts, ultimately taking pressure off the bloated public sector wage bill. This comes as Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, one year into his reign, launches a raft of new political, military and economic initiatives. Impacts Oman will remain compliant with OPEC+ oil production cuts. The sultanate will boost output at its competitive giant Ghazeer and Khazzan gas fields in Block 61 to benefit from high prices. Muscat will prioritise agriculture, fisheries and logistics for non-oil growth but struggle to secure project financing post-pandemic.