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Firms in developing countries can learn advanced technology and management know‐how through foreign direct investment (FDI). The extent (or the lack) of transmission of technology and knowledge depends on the structure of production networks. In the automotive industry, networks consist of vehicle assemblers and their layers of parts suppliers. We used the South African automotive industry as a case study to examine how the behaviour of assemblers and parts suppliers is linked. Based on statistical analysis using the original firm‐level data, we found that the first‐tier suppliers significantly increased their production with the regional expansion of automotive production. However, such growth linkages were not observed among lower‐tier suppliers. Further, we obtained the suggestive evidence that only multinational (and not local) first‐tier firms improved their production efficiency, indicating the importance of production networks among multinationals in transmitting technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expenditure data were collected from 99 households in two rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal. District and wealth group expenditure analyses suggest a less-than-proportional increase in the demand for tradable farm commodities, and a more-than-proportional increase in the demand for non-tradable farm commodities following a 1 per cent increase in household expenditure. Expenditure on non-farm tradables (imported consumer durables) showed the greatest potential for demand growth, with expenditure elasticities ranging from 1,75 to 2,59. An increase of R1,00 in household income is predicted to add an additional 28 cents (multiplier of 1,28) to the local economy. The study estimates relatively weak growth linkages. However, even relatively weak growth linkages could lead to much needed new income and employment opportunities in the local farm and non-farm sectors if the constraints limiting agriculture, and hence broad-based growth in rural incomes, are alleviated. Agriculture-led growth in South Africa requires public investment in both physical and institutional infrastructure to reduce transaction costs and risks in all markets, thus encouraging greater participation by local entrepreneurs and private sector investors. In addition, the roles, functions and services offered by extension agents should be extended to promote collective marketing, facilitate land rental contracts and provide training, technical and business support for farm and non-farm entrepreneurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the relationship between household debt and income inequality in South Africa for the period 1980–2021. We use two measures of inequality and estimate a vector error correction model (VECM) which includes household debt, inequality, and other macroeconomic variables. To test the robustness of our results, single equation models are used, which estimate household debt as a function of inequality and macroeconomic factors. We employ two measures of inequality, namely Gini coefficient and ratio of top and bottom income earners' proportion of income. Furthermore, we use both household debt as a percentage of disposable income and household debt service costs as dependent variables in single equation regressions. The study finds a negative and significant relationship between household debt and income inequality in the long run, which contradicts the Rajan hypothesis in the South African case. Rather, we find that inequality in South Africa creates a bias in debt allocation towards high-income earners, whose incomes can easily absorb the extra debt (reduced ratio of debt to disposable income). There are therefore no socio-equity considerations in South African credit markets. We find growth in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita also has a moderating effect on the relationship between household debt and income inequality. High GDP per capita growth in the presence of high inequality reduces the impact of inequality on household debt and vice-versa. All other control variables take expected signs. These results are robust to changes in the inequality or household debt measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study investigates the impact of financial development, urban population, technology and energy consumption on economic output and carbon emissions in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) economies. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses Johansen Fisher type panel cointegration, fully modified ordinary least square and heterogeneous panel causality tests to examine long-run, long-run elasticities and short-run relationships. For conducting the tests, the study selected five emerging economies, i.e. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and used balanced panel data for the period between 1998 and 2016. Findings: The empirical results confirm the presence of a long-run cointegration relationship among the variables. We find that financial development, technology and energy consumption have a considerable positive impact on economic output. Also, financial development, urban population and technology help reduce carbon (CO2) emissions and ensure an improved environmental quality in the long run in the five emerging economies. In the short run, a bidirectional causal relationship is noticed between financial development and CO2 emissions. Practical implications: Clean energy, technological development and investments by public–private partnerships are required in the public and private sectors to reduce carbon emissions. This not only ensures improved environmental quality but also increases energy efficiency, thereby reducing dependency on traditional energy consumption. Originality/value: As its contribution to the extant literature, the study examines the impact of financial development, energy consumption, technology, urbanization, economic output and carbon emissions in BRICS economies. The findings of the research suggest both the governments and policymakers of these five emerging economies to develop more effective policies toward bolstering the financial development and increasing the use of technology. These, in turn, ensure sustainable development with low CO2 emission in the future and, eventually, pushing those five emerging market economies toward sustainable economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the interplay between the Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP) and the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) in Malawi. We take advantage of data collected from a 17-month evaluation of a sample of households eligible to receive SCTP, which also provided information about inclusion into FISP. We estimate two types of synergies: i) the complementarity between SCTP and FISP, that is whether the impact of both interventions run together is larger than the sum of the impacts of these interventions when run separately, and ii) the incremental impact of receiving FISP when a household already receives SCTP, as well as the incremental impact of receiving SCTP when a household already receives FISP. The analysis shows that there are synergies between the two policy interventions, mainly in terms of incremental impacts of each programme over the other, in increasing expenditure, agricultural production and livestock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism in southern Africa is based on the region's wildlife and nature assets and is generally environmentally sustainable, but the extent to which it contributes to other aspects of sustainable development - overall income generation or poverty eradication - is less well explored. In this paper, we use social accounting matrices to compare the economic impacts of foreign tourism in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. Overall impacts on GDP range from 6% ( South Africa) to 9% ( Namibia). However, South Africa's economy is more diversified than its neighbours' and more of the goods and services used by tourists and by the tourism industry are supplied domestically. Consequently, the impact per Rand spent is considerably larger for South Africa than for Botswana or Namibia. The poorer segments of the population appear to receive shares of tourism income that are smaller than their share of overall income in all three countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses demand constraints on agricultural growth in seven countries of East and Southern Africa using an applied general equilibrium framework. It finds that both traditional and non-traditional export crops have limited potential to raise incomes because of demand constraints (for traditional exports) or a relatively small base (for non-traditional exports). The best prospects for agriculture-led growth remain in the food sector, where domestic demand represents a large and growing market. Improvements in market efficiency and simultaneous growth in the livestock sectors can help spur demand further and avert falls in prices. Achieving rapid gains in farm incomes, however, also requires investment in rural infrastructure to reduce marketing costs, and demand- enhancing growth in the non-agricultural sector to spur demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-national regressions reveal abnormally low agricultural workforce shares, given GNP, in developing countries that had historically concentrated land into large capital-intensive farms. We argue that such deagriculturalisation was premature, since its concomitant labour shedding has undesirable outcomes. In a new South African survey, a large proportion of rural households (and working-age persons) was ‘dependent’, relying for income almost wholly on either migrant remittances or pensions. A separate group (with less poverty and unemployment) relied mainly on local, including own-farm, income. The group was heavily over-represented in one of the three regions, where many more households had significant land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the growth challenges and opportunities of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa's food processing complex and argues that the growth challenges of these enterprises must be seen in the context of restructuring in South Africa's agrifood system. Based on a 30-company sample of SME food processors, the article argues that supermarket sourcing practices represent the most significant obstacle to the growth of these companies. Paradoxically, the complexity of South Africa's food retail system also offers opportunities for growth. The article ends by considering policy options for assisting SMEs, given this growth opportunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 1993 and 1996, Thomson made a concerted effort to stimulate a rental market for arable land in the Upper Tugela Catchment region of the former KwaZulu homeland, South Africa. The number of transactions increased with associated gains in equity and efficiency. This study revisits the market and examines its performance in the year 2000. It was found that the number of rental transactions and lessees had declined, but that the area of land transacted had increased sharply. This apparent anomaly can be explained by an increase in fixed transaction costs that prevented prospective participants from entering the market, and a decrease in variable transaction costs that encouraged lessees to trade larger areas. Lessees are consolidating land from several different lessors, with gains in equity and efficiency still evident. Government extension staff could play a key role in sustaining and broadening access to rental markets for cropland in communal areas by reducing fixed transaction costs as Thomson did. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small-scale commercial poultry enterprises are often promoted and used by the government and non-governmental organisations in development projects to generate income and to improve food self-sufficiency and alleviate malnutrition, as poultry is an excellent source of protein. This study shows that the majority of small-scale commercial poultry producers in KwaZulu-Natal come from previously disadvantaged communities and have significantly lower enterprise growth rates than larger poultry producers. The results of a block-recursive regression analysis of data gathered from a sample of 123 poultry farmers in the province indicate that enterprise growth rate is constrained by poor access to credit, high transaction costs and unreliable local markets. Government policies should focus on reducing transaction costs by improving education and physical infrastructure, sponsoring training and mentoring services for small-scale commercial poultry producers, and helping these emerging entrepreneurs to formalise the business institutions needed to manage co-owned resources and to market products collectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quasi-input-output framework was employed to measure and compare economy-wide benefits from irrigated crops and cultivated plantations in the Crocodile River catchment. The results of the analysis showed that it makes a huge difference to consider not only direct economic benefits from water-using activities, but also their economy-wide benefits and multisector linkages for evaluating water allocation regimes and policies. A completely opposite ranking of the compared activities was obtained when economy-wide effects (including indirect multipliers) were taken into account, compared with considering only direct benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expenditure patterns among a sample of 99 rural households in two communal districts in KwaZulu-Natal were investigated to determine the potential impact of a widespread income shock on household expenditure. The results showed expenditure elasticities of close to unity for food. Low elasticities were found for staple foods. Elasticities for meat, meat products and poultry were close to unity, while horticultural products showed the greatest potential for demand growth within the food category. Of the statistically significant commodity categories, expenditure elasticities for durables, housing and transport were more than double those estimated for the aggregate food category. For consumer items, the district expenditure elasticities were estimated to be 0,76 and 0,71, while expenditure on social obligations would not increase with rural incomes. Wealthier households (the top expenditure decile) have a greater propensity for increased expenditure on transport, while poorer households show a greater propensity for increased expenditure on housing and durables. Although agriculture has the potential to generate widespread growth in rural incomes, the preference for manufactured goods casts some doubt on the strength of consumption multipliers for locally produced farm and non-farm goods in rural KwaZulu-Natal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High transaction costs are detrimental to the efficient operation or existence of markets for inputs and outputs. The cost of information and the costs associated with the search for trade partners, the distance to formal markets and contract enforcement are likely to influence the marketing of food crops. This study hypothesises that the level of income generated from food-crop sales by small-scale farmers in the Impendle and Swayimana districts of KwaZuluNatal is influenced by transaction costs and certain household and farm characteristics. Regression analysis shows that the depth of marketing methods is significantly influenced by transaction cost proxies, such as cooperation with large commercial farmers and ownership of means of transport. Results from a block-recursive regression analysis show that the level of crop income generated is determined by the depth of marketing methods, the size of allocated arable land and off-farm income. Households with lower transaction costs, sizeable allocated land and off-farm income can be expected to generate higher income from food crops. Investment in public goods such as roads, telecommunications and an efficient legal system (to uphold commercial contracts), as well as farmer support services (input supply, extension, marketing information and research), would probably raise farm and non-farm income by reducing transaction costs. This would increase the effective demand for locally produced goods and services, thus contributing to rural employment and livelihoods within rural communal areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Argues that the agrarian studies literature sheds light on the multiple, nonlinear trajectories of capitalist development occurring in the context of accelerating global integration. Problems with industrial restructuring; Agrarian histories and concepts in South Africa; How attention to multiple trajectories of sociospatial change can be used to challenge the neoliberal orthodoxy taking hold in post-apartheid South Africa.