Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Masters)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/37936
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Item The technical efficiency of country responses to the COVID-19 pandemic(niversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-02) Desjardins, Armand; Booysen, FrederikThe COVID-19 pandemic saw the most comprehensive implementation in history of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions by governments around the world. A better understanding of how efficient these interventions are, especially given their high economic costs to society is pivotal in designing similar policy for future outbreaks of this nature. This research estimates the technical efficiency of country responses to the COVID-19 pandemic using a Stochastic Frontier Analysis model and panel dataset combining indicators from the Our World in Data (OWID), Google Movement Index and World Bank Economic Indicators databases. The SFA regression also corrects for endogeneity in the input variables, as policy stringency tends to be influenced by the number of cases in each country. To do so, the OWID stringency index is used as an instrumental variable for each of the policy inputs to correct for the endogenous relationship between the input and output variables. The study found that the correction of technical efficiency estimates for endogeneity using the xtsfkk routine in Stata was an appropriate estimation strategy. The exogenously and endogenously estimated efficiency scores furthermore differed statistically significantly, with exogenously estimated scores representing overestimates of technical efficiency. Vaccination policies proved to be the most technically efficient channel of prevention followed by stay-at-home restrictions. A second stage OLS regression was used to estimate the effects of selected drivers on the technical efficiency scores computed in the Stage 1 SFA model. Health expenditure as a % of GDP, hospital beds per 1,000 population, and physicians per 1,000 population were all positively related to technical efficiency. Countries with reactive and flexible policy approaches, able to increase policy intensity levels based on COVID-19 waves, were found to obtain higher technical efficiency scores than wealthy countries. Improvements in the level of detail on the drivers of technical efficiency and the adoption of machine learning techniques to estimate efficiency scores are recommended to extend research in this area past its current scopeItem The role of geographic proximity in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Mzobe, Nozipho; Mukim, MeghaThe purpose of this paper is to explore the role of geographic proximity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study investigates the extent to which the performance of firms has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the role played by economic geography factors in mitigating or exacerbating the impact. To do this, I build upon the conceptual frameworks from the existing literature and introduce a model to help explain performance as driven by specific firm characteristics. The study draws data from the World Bank Group’s Enterprise Survey (ES). The dataset used for analysis comprises of 1097 South African firms of which 329 are from the Gauteng province. The study finds that firm size, sector, and market demand have a significant impact on the performance of private sector enterprises during the COVID- 19 pandemic. The results of the empirical analysis are inconclusive with regards to the effects of location and export collaboration in determining firm success.Item Analysis of tax relief measures as a result of the covid-19 pandemic in south africa, compared with the tax measures of other members of the brics group(University of the Witswatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Selemela, Elsie; Ram, Asheer J.The purpose of this report is to analyse tax relief measures that were taken as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak in South Africa, evaluate the approach taken and compare it with other countries in the BRICS international organisation. The COVID-19 pandemic caused numerous company closures and employment losses (IMF, 2020). Governments worldwide had to intervene to support their citizens and keep businesses afloat (IMF, 2020). In order to maintain widespread access to essential goods and services, taxation is crucial (IMF, 2020). The dire effect on economic activities around the world influenced tax laws (IMF, 2020). It fell to tax administrators to ease the tax burden on taxpayers as they were facing hardships (OECD [Organisation for Economic Co operations and Development], 2020). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) states that the design of tax systems can help stabilise economies when faced with crisis (IMF, 2020). The South African government implemented tax relief measures because of COVID-19, although taxpayers are still experiencing the detrimental effects of COVID-19. It is the government’s wish to offer additional help to businesses and individuals who are still facing these hardships and also assist in rebuilding businesses (SARS, 2021). This report will look at tax measures that were taken by South Africa in comparison to those that were taken by Brazil, Russia, India and China to determine the usefulness of these measures in dealing with the effects of COVID-19 on taxes. Some measures were introduced for a short time and therefore are no longer applicable, but it is important to consider them in this report because they might have long-term effects on taxes. The findings of this analysis indicate which measures were used, when they were implemented, and how taxes in the BRICS countries changed while adjusting to COVID-19. It was found that tax policies put in place in South Africa were unjustified since they decreased tax collection without any measures in place to boost it (IMF, 2020). Examining what other BRICS nations were doing to increase tax collection during the COVID-19 outbreak can help identify areas for improvement.