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Abstract This paper develops a relatively novel method for identifying opportunities for diversification in the South African Manufacturing, Engineering, and Related Services (MER) Sector. The central tenet of this analysis is the economic complexity framework, which states that countries are able to increase their complexity through the diversific...
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... South African economy has been characterized by a long-run, low-growth trap since the end of apartheid in 1994. Figure 1 illustrates this and displays real GDP per capital and the real GDP per capita growth rate from 1990 to 2018. Although GDP has generally been growing steadily since international sanctions were lifted in 1994, recent growth rates have been weak. ...
Citations
... RE and lower energy demand boost security, create power producing jobs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Agro-processing and tourism are highlighted to address Ghana's jobless growth [21]. With favorable rules and export possibilities, these places will bring many jobs and economic growth. ...
... To alleviate joblessness in Ghana, agro-processing and tourism are being prioritized alongside RE measures to produce cash and create jobs. Our findings on preserving labor standards and job quality in wind energy projects support the focus on overcoming skill gaps and other challenges to maximize RE project employment benefits in Ghana [21]. The study also aligns with studies exploring the job-creating potential of RE projects in African countries. ...
China, the world's greatest emitter of greenhouse gases, has committed to reaching peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. One strategy to accomplish this aim is switching to a low-carbon economy via advancing renewable energy (RE) projects. Therefore, this study focuses on solar, wind, biomass, and hydropower and examines the beneficial employment effects of RE projects in China. The study uses fuzzy-based Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methodologies, such as the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS), to evaluate numerous employment effect criteria and sub-criteria. Based on these evaluations, the report prioritizes four main types of RE projects. According to the fuzzy AHP technique results, direct employment, skill requirements, and local employment are the most crucial employment effect factors. The study then employed the fuzzy WASPAS approach to assessing various RE initiatives' employment prospects. According to the findings, hydropower is the best choice for creating jobs, followed by wind and solar power initiatives. In recent years, the hydro, wind, and solar power industries have experienced rapid expansion, creating numerous job possibilities in production, installation, operation, and maintenance. Additionally, creating RE projects can boost regional economic growth and lessen poverty.
... Such value was recorded in 2019 at approximately US$46 million, US$62 million, and US$107 million for field crops, horticultural crops, and livestock products, respectively (DALRRD 2020). The contribution of agriculture to the gross domestic product (GDP) of South Africa is reported by Statistics South Africa (STATS SA 2020) to have expanded from 2.2% in 2010 to 2.3% in 2020, which remains low, yet agriculture is expected to boost employment in South Africa as noted in Allen et al. (2021). The Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD 2020) reported that the value of agricultural production in South Africa is constantly fluctuating and manifests in the agricultural sector's poor performance (Karfakis et al. 2011) among other sectors. ...
... Examining spending goals for the agricultural sector amid the consensus that the South African agricultural sector is known for job creation (Allen et al. 2021), a lot more must be understood in the context of government expenditure in the agricultural sector and agricultural production output. Matchaya (2020) highlighted that understanding the relationship between the value of agricultural production and government expenditure in agriculture helps in determining appropriate policy responses, which ultimately guarantee economic growth. ...
South African agriculture has the potential to stimulate growth in other economic sectors, but dwindling budgetary allocations to agriculture over time and the nature of other impacting factors on the value of agricultural production have not received much attention in recent times. Therefore, the present study examined the effects of government expenditure in agriculture, annual average rainfall, consumer price index, food import value, and population on the value of agricultural production with a specific focus on government expenditure in agriculture for the period 1983 to 2019. Using the Johansen cointegration test, the results reveal that there is a long-run relationship among the variables. The Granger causality test results suggest that government expenditure in agriculture does not Granger cause the value of agricultural production. However, the two variables are linked through other variables in the model, such that an increase in government expenditure in agriculture, average annual rainfall, and population were shown to ultimately increase the value of agricultural production based on vector autoregressive (VAR) model analysis. In contrast, an increase in the consumer price index and food import value is detrimental to the value of agricultural production. These studies’ findings have policy implications for increased government expenditure.
... Both sectoral and occupational skills gap were analyzed using skills gap ratio. The study adopted approach by Bhorat et al. (2020) where in equation form, for each occupation i, would have a skills requirement as per the chosen measure of skills, R, and this would then need to be compared against the typical youth's skills level according to that measure, Y. For any occupation i, the skills gap can then be represented as: ...
China has had a meteoric rise in the last three decades to become the second largest economy in the world, but the growth model is being rethought. India has emerged as a large services sector economy after years of low growth. The Latin American trifecta of Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico built industrial capability in the earlier part of the century, but they are now adversely impacted by institutional and microeconomic challenges. Russia and Saudi Arabia continue to be impacted by the vagaries of the oil market and geopolitics linked to Ukraine and other crises. Türkiye has changed but has faced setbacks. Indonesia has stabilized and is growing. South Africa faces a difficult post-apartheid transition.
The main constraints on SME growth in developing countries are regulations and legislation. Poor administration of environmental regulatory compliance is shown by the high number of SMEs in the manufacturing sector closing down annually in developing economies. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of administrative practices on environmental compliance by manufacturing SMEs in a developing country. This study adopted a quantitative research approach. A sample size of 215 administrative personnel and managers from manufacturing SMEs operating within Msunduzi Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, was selected. Managers and administrative personnel were selected to eliminate biased answers that favor organizations and because both may have had an opportunity to enforce administrative practices that adhere to environmental regulations. The sample size was selected using a probability sampling method. The study shows that respondents agree that environmental compliance is a mandatory practice for SMEs in the manufacturing sector. Although results show that SMEs are complying with environmental regulations, they still face challenges. The study further demonstrates a disregard for the organization and storage of assessment reports by administrative personnel working in manufacturing SMEs.
Access to finance is one of the factors influencing economic activities. The current study aimed at determining the role of finance in the South African agro-industrialization relationship. To achieve the study objective, bounds testing, the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and error correction approaches were applied on quarterly time series data spanning between the first quarter of 1994 and the last quarter of 2021. Additionally, an interaction term was included to assist the aforementioned models in determining linkage between agriculture and industrial outputs through farmer’s access to finance. Findings revealed that agricultural output and finance are valid forecasters of the industrialization behaviour in the long-run. Access to finance leads to industrial growth while agricultural output growth causes a decline in the industrialization. Nonetheless, aggregate growth of both financial access and agricultural output are associated with industrial output in the short-run. Grounded of the study findings, this study concludes that financial access influence both agriculture and industrial output. Consequently, improving famers’ financial access through financial facilities, financial intermediaries and government subsidies could be a worthwhile strategy or policy to enhance a country’s industrialization. As implication of the study, obtained finding can assist in linking effectiveness of primary, secondary and tertiary economic sectors in South Africa.
This research letter aims to contribute new critical understandings of the role of peer-to-peer collaborations and Open Innovation in fostering tourism ecosystems co-creation. By using the British Council – Innovation for African Universities project – Accelerating Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Sustainable Tourism in Africa, as an illustrative case, it shares innovative practices. It calls for further research aimed at generating new theoretical and practical knowledge on tourism ecosystems, as a mechanism to enhance sector’s sustainability and resilience and on the role of peer-to-peer collaborations and Indigenous Knowledge Systems informed OI, as enablers of tourism ecosystems to an develop innovative intervention, facilitate youth entrepreneurship, pivot market opportunities and advance strategies for a sustainable and resilient tourism sector in the long term.
