3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/45
Browse
4 results
Search Results
Item Are we bearing fruit?: investigating the impact of industrial policy in the South African deciduous fruit sector(2018) Moletsane, AtangIndustrialisation is widely-recognised as being the driver of the rapid development experienced in East Asian miracle economies, in which those governments used targeted industrial polices to grow chosen sectors. Industrial policies have traditionally focused on manufacturing; with agriculture being viewed as an entirely separate sector that provides certain inputs into technology-heavy manufacturing activities. In more recent times however, high-value fresh agricultural produce is becoming more aligned with processes and technologies normally associated with manufacturing. The production and particularly the export of fresh horticultural commodities has become subject to a phenomenon coined the ‘industrialisation of freshness’. These commodities are high export-earners and facilitate technological progression and employment creation, and thus are becoming more recognised around the world as good candidates for targeted industrial policy. One such high-value agricultural commodity is the deciduous fruit sector which in South Africa contributes substantially to the economy, but has experienced slow expansion over two decades compared to other countries like Chile. This report is an investigation into whether, in South Africa, industrial objectives of supporting growth, export expansion and employment creation are being facilitated by the nature of the conception and implementation of industrial policy; assessed using the case of the deciduous fruit industry. This investigation is done using the ‘embedded autonomy’ model of the developmental state which infers that in order to be effective in its interventions, government needs to have close relationships with industries but must also have the authority to direct industries in line with national priorities. This report provides interesting insights into the levels of cooperation and trust between government and industry; highlighting that gaps still exist in state capacity and that more targeted focusing of industrial policy needs to take place before South Africa can achieve a developmental state.Item Assessing the trade policy space to implement industrial policy in South Africa(2013-07-16) Letsoalo, Malose AnthonyThis paper undertook qualitative research to determine the trade policy space for South Africa to implement its industrial policy action plan (Ipap). The South African economy was transformed from import substitution in the 1970s to export-orientation in the 1980s. The apartheid regime failed to develop coherent policies for industrialisation. In the 1990s, there was a deliberate government decision as articulated in the GEAR policy to liberalise the economy and with regard to trade this is associated with accession to the World Trade Organisation and commitments made thereof. In 2007, the country adopted the national industrial policy framework to guide its reindustrialisation efforts and subsequently various iterations of the Ipap. Therefore, given that a lot of policy space was lost when the country joined as the WTO as a developed country, the question is “does South Africa have enough policy space to use some of the instruments that were used by successful Asian countries to industrialise”. The WTO made some of these instruments illegal. To analyse policy space, the paper looked at the effect of WTO Agreements on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM), on Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMS), on Government Procurement (GPA), as well as the tariff commitments. The study found that although SCM has made certain subsidies illegal, other kinds of subsidies are allowed such as those for economic development in disadvantaged regions and for rural development. Therefore, strategy and packaging of these subsidies for development is important. TRIMS was found to have significantly reduced policy space by making a number of instruments on foreign direct investment illegal such as enforcing local content as well as export requirements. Since South Africa is not party to the GPA, it retains policy space to use government procurement to promote industrialisation in the country. In terms of tariffs commitment, the study found that there is no “water” between applied and bound rate for a number of critical sectors such as textile, clothing, footwear, and furniture. However, other important sectors such as automotive and automotive components and white goods still have “water” to increase tariff in future as necessary. Therefore, the study concluded that there is policy space to implement industrial policy in South Africa but this requires strategy and closer look at the WTO rules for flexibility.Item An evaluation of orthodox and emerging alternative approaches to the industrial policy in the context of economic development(2013-07-11) Lamola, Leonard SekhohliweIn a broad sense, an industrial policy is aimed at influencing the structure of an economy. Justin Lin (2010), argues that the best way to upgrade a country’s endowment structure is to develop its industries according to the comparative advantages determined by its given endowment structure at that time. Then he assumes that the economy would be most competitive, the economic surplus predominant, and the capital accumulation and the upgrading of factor endowment structure will be the fastest possible. He further proposes that the private enterprises should enter industries according to the country’s comparative advantages, relative factor prices must fully reflect the relative abundance of those factors as prices can only be determined through competition in a ―well-functioning‖ market. Therefore, the market should be the basic institution of the economy. The proposed essay will conduct a critical analysis of structuralism and industrial policy as propagated within the ―New Structural Economics‖ realm as proposed by Justin Lin, a former World Bank chief economist. The proposed inquiry would attempt to underline that the Newly Industrialised Countries showed that specific institutions have performed a critical role in guiding market forces towards industrial development. Notably is the state as an institution in its developmental role in guiding economic strategy and industrial policies. Therefore, the basic argument is that despite the eminence of the orthodox economic approach and its responses to the recent economic crises there are numerous contradictions, including weaknesses as advocated by Lin’s approach to developmental issues and the role of industrial policy, expressly with regard to the developing world.Item Informing industrial policy in Uganda: interaction between institutions, technology and market reforms(2008-09-03T08:08:45Z) Okuku, Juma AnthonyThis study examines the motive ideas and assumptions that have informed industrial policy in Uganda since 1945. I deploy a historical perspective in order to understand the process of industrial policy and hope to capture the practices of industrial policy so as to explain the failure to pursue a successful industrialisation process in the country. The objective is to explain the nature of Uganda’s industrial policy practices, historically, with the view to deepening our understanding its impact on the industrialisation process. The study contends that industrial policy and industrialisation are often products of numerous historical, social, economic and political considerations. The major finding of this thesis is that the lack of a coherent industrial policy was a major contributing factor in the explanation of Uganda’s stunted industrialisation process. Secondly, the study analyses industrial policy practices in light of the imposition of Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) on the country. Apart from the specific policies and institutional framework under SAPs, the study endeavours to explain their impact on industrial sector and it is focused on three themes: i) effects of liberalisation and privatisation on industry, ii) the sources of finance for industry and iii) the technology policy and its implications for industrial policy. The study as well addresses the public-private sector interactions which are seen as an expression of embryonic embedded autonomy. The study contends that for industrial policy to be effective at the national level and enhance competitiveness of industry there should be a selective, sectoral focus approach rather than a general regulation of the entire economy. Given the variant sectoral characteristics and features, the understanding of specific sectoral needs is critical to avoid a generalised industrial policy practices. The focus on sectors brings out similarities and differences which may inform state policy towards each of them. To illustrate the differences and similarities between sectors and the need for differentiated industrial policy options, we take the cases of the textile and fish processing industry sub-sectors. In conclusion, the thesis contends that to advocate for industrial policy in the current global context constitutes a movement away from traditional interventionism and goes beyond the market versus the state dichotomy and recommends their close interactions to realise sustained industrialisation. In this case, the interaction between institutions, technology and market reforms as the basis of a coherent industrial policy. From a policy perspective, this study attempts to provide an analysis that may lead to improved industrial policy-making within Uganda’s broad political economy.