3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item The interpretation of the green economy concept within two major banks in South Africa(2020) Naude, RuanGlobally an unprecedented challenge, in terms of complexity and extent, is facing us all — irrespective of whether some continue to deny its very existence (McCright & Dunlap, 2011). This challenge is the ever-increasing levels of unsustainable resource use leading to ecological degradation and destruction, biodiversity loss and climate change (Hamilton et al., 2015). A concept that has been used to describe the epoch (not the era) in which we find ourselves is that of the Anthropocene (Crutzen, 2006). It has been argued that this epochal moment requires a systemic response in terms of our thinking and practice in all domains of human activity and interaction (Berkhout, 2014) — including but not limited to those of education, work and the interaction between the two. This study, which utilised a case study approach, examined how two major banks in South Africa were interpreting the green economy. In order to analyse the interpretation of the green economy within the two banks, a typology developed by Peter Ferguson which classifies green economy discourses on a continuum from weak green economy discourses to strong green economy discourses, was utilised (2015). The study also examined the interplay between higher education, and specifically the discipline of banking and economics, as banking still employs large numbers of commerce graduates. It illustrated that there were dynamics operational in both domains, banking and economics, that were potentially inhibiting a substantive socio-environmental economic transformation. Furthermore, it showed that the interaction between the two domains is complex; it is problematic to assume a clear and simple link can be established between the two.Item The impact of financial inclusion on economic growth: the case of selected African counties(2019-09-27) Andre, Nontobeko NomfundoThis study uses a panel data estimation approach to estimate the relationship between financial inclusion and economic growth using the case of 34 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study uses panel data sourced from the World Bank which include the Global Financial Index survey and World Development Indicators covering the periods of 2011, 2014 and 2017. The study analysis is based on two models, the first model measures the relationship between financial inclusion and economic growth and the second model measures the relation between financial inclusion and financial development. The results of the first model established a relationship between financial inclusion (measured by account ownership and a composite financial index) and economic growth (measured by Logarithm of GDP). This confirms what is in the literature, that financial inclusion stimulates economic growth. The results from the second model established that financial development (measured by the ratio of credit to GDP) is significantly related to financial inclusion (measured by account ownership and the composite index of financial inclusion). Overall, the results indicate that the use of composite variable and General Least Squares estimation approaches improves the robustness of the regression models. Based on these findings, the study, therefore, recommends among other things that the government promote financial inclusion through reforms in education, trade and industrialisation.Item The significance of innovation networks in the formalisation of urban agriculture as an urban land use: the case of Johannesburg(2019-10) Zivhave, MorgenMainstream debates show the continued marginalisation of traditional urban agriculture (UA) by conventional land use planning despite its food security, nutrition, environmental and social benefits globally. Instigated by observed tensions (and resultant vicious cycle) between UA and land use planning in Johannesburg, this study poses innovation as a means for UA to navigate the city’s neoliberal market-driven logic and land use planning. The study argues for the need for innovation by both sectors but takes a step further by drawing on the innovation networks theory to argue the case for a collaborative ecosystem of actors. Literature shows that improving products, services and organisational practices by UA is not sufficient to secure land access in cities. The study uses the market logic within the neoliberal environment, juxtaposing international case studies to explore UA’s place in contemporary Johannesburg. The study used the extended case study approach to gather experiences from UA entities, City of Johannesburg and collaborating partners. The method regards participants as shaping and simultaneously being shaped by the external forces; and thus innovation networks between UA and land use planning practices are mirrored within the broader national neoliberal planning policy. Similar to Almere, Berlin, Detroit, Havana and Portland, the key study findings are that applying the principles of innovating networks to Johannesburg creates a collaborations ecosystem between UA and land use planning actors that attract investment and enhances value addition which in turn leads to formalisation of the sector (thus translating to a virtuous cycle). However, despite these collaboration platforms, neoliberal planning pressures have reversed UA formalisation in the cities of Berlin and Portland as urban farms are converted to real estate. With the exception of Almere, experiences in Havana and Detroit shows the success of innovation networks in permanently zoning UA outside the neoliberal planning pressures. Regrettably, the neoliberal planning paradigm focuses on the economic viability of UA and discounts its social, health, environmental and food security benefits to the local economy.Item The circular economy: a review in milieu of the South African mining industry(2019) Parker, RaineMining, as a global economy, provides revenues and development to countries. It generally follows the Linear Economy (LE), which takes, makes and disposes of resources. However, mining wastes pose significant risk to both human health and the environment (Mehta, et al., 2018). One such waste, acid mine drainage (AMD), is considered one of the biggest environmental challenges facing the global mining industry (Hudson-Edwards, et al., 2011). With the increasing global water issues, the current economic model used in mining needs altering. A better option would be implementing Circular Economy (CE). The CE is “a regenerative system in which resource input and waste, emission, and energy leakage are minimised by slowing, closing, and narrowing material and energy loops” (Geissdoerfer, et al., 2017, p. 3 & 10). The main benefit of CE being reusing water, recycling water, enhancing renewable resources and eradicating toxic chemicals in waste water management. The aim of this research report is to assess the uptake of CE in gold mining in South Africa and to see if this methodology is supported by South African Legislation. This is answered using a mixed methodology approach using qualitative and quantitative data and a case study looking at five gold mining companies in South Africa, namely AngloGold Ashanti, DRDGOLD, Harmony, Gold Fields and Sibanye Stillwater. Five main CE principles relevant to gold mining have been identified, namely: (1) Facilitating system effectiveness; (2) Preserving and enhancing renewable resources; (3) Optimising resource yields; (4) Collaboration and (5) Enhanced business models which entail transparent regulatory reporting. CE principles are mostly facilitated by South African legislation, with the exception of water regeneration, restorative systems and incentivised benefits to implement the CE. Similarly, the case study, focusing on water management, indicate that the level of CE implementation in the gold mining sectors in South Africa has increased over the past 10-year period by all five mining houses. However, cross industry collaboration is lacking with miners not collaborating with other industries on the water issues faced by all industries. Positively an increase in environment data in later years can be seen by the companies studied. Thus, this research looking at CE in gold mining waste water management could equally be relevant in other mining industries both in South Africa and globally.Item Essays on the relationship between financial sector development and economic growth(2018) Oro, Oro UfuoThis study investigates how financial sector development affects economic growth. The determinants of growth which include financial development have been a subject of academic investigation for the last three centuries. In all these efforts, it has been difficult for researchers to be definitive on the forces that affect growth and to explain the differences in the level of growth among nations. The neoclassical link growth to capital accumulation(CA) and total factor productivity(TFP). More recently, researchers report that financial sector development could result in capital accumulation, innovation, and total factor productivity. We investigate these claims and the various ramification of financial development and how they explain growth and the differences in the rates of growth in different contexts. For example, in chapter two of our thesis, we examine the nature of the finance-growth and finance-growth volatility functions in the context of Nigeria using time series data. To analyze the data, we use semi-parametric, Hansen sample splitting and threshold estimators. Our results are revealing. Contrary to the recent literature, we have no evidence of “to much finance.” We had evidence of U-shaped functions in both the finance – growth, and finance – growth volatility relationships. We discuss policy implications of our findings and make recommendations for reforms based on our results. In chapter three of our thesis, we follow up to examine the nature of the finance-growth relationship in the oil-producing countries and compare that with the same relationship in the non-oil producing countries. We purposely selected thirty countries based on the magnitude of the oil production from every continent, we also selected a sample of thirty non-oil producing countries and we sub-divided the samples into two based on the positive and negative indices for institutions in each country. We employ dynamic panel GMM and threshold regressors to analyze our data. We obtain very useful results. We have evidence of “too much finance” and inverted U-shaped functions in all our models. The threshold points in the two samples and the sub-samples were quite revealing. In the oil-producing countries, the thresholds were at 10.62% for the whole sample, 5.38% for the sample with negative indices for institutions, and 79.11% for the sample with positive indices for institutions. The thresholds were different and better in the non-oil producing countries: 14.81% for the whole sample, 14.71% for the countries with negative indices for institutions and 142.25% for countries with positive indices for institutions. Based on our results, we suspected the syndrome of “resource curse” in financial sector development. The implications of our findings are discussed, policy suggestions and areas of further research are articulated. In chapter four, we take up an interesting ramification of financial sector development -the structure of the financial sector (bank-based vs. market-based) and examine to see if it matters in economic growth and growth volatility. Our time series data came from the context of Nigeria from 1980 – 2015. We analyze our data using ARDL estimator. Our results were important for finance-growth literature and policymakers. Market-based financial structure distinguishes itself with a stronger effect on economic growth and growth volatility. These results agreed with the recent literature on the subject and had a huge implication for financial sector development in developing countries. We discussed these implications and suggested policy reforms for economic growth ambitions coming from the heels of financial development. In our chapter five, we examine a unique and interesting aspect of financial sector development and how it solves funding problems for the small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs). Our focus in this chapter is the increase in the physical structure of the financial sector unlike the functional - the depth, efficiency, and access which we considered in the previous chapters. We examine how the creation of the second-tier stock exchanges help SMEs to access funding when extant research believe that stock exchange services are spatial proximity bias. We use Logistic regression to analyze data from Nigeria and found evidence confirming the stock exchange spatial-proximity bias. We confirm the apparent discrimination of stock exchanges in the allocation of funds to firms located far away from the exchanges. We discuss the implication of this result including the skewness in development among regions, resources allocation efficiency and policy miscarriage in the existing practice. We recommend reforms to correct the situation.Item Cultural values and entrepreneurial growth motivation: a focus on township enterprises in Tshwane.(2019) Kgapola, TshepisoThis research is rooted in the theory of basic human values as postulated by Schwartz (1992). The theory puts forth dimensions of basic human values; self-enhancement, self-transcendence, openness to change and conservation. The study also explores the theory of achievement motivation by McClelland (1961) in exploring how cultural values influence entrepreneurial growth motivation. The research is undertaken to explore specifically how cultural values impact growth motivation of township entrepreneurs in Tshwane. The research takes a quantitative cross-sectional design with township entrepreneurs as the unit of analysis. Basic human values differ in their influence on entrepreneurial growth motivation. The township economic landscape in South Africa is one characterised by stagnation, lack of innovation and is mostly necessity driven. Self-enhancement values were found to have an inverse relationship with entrepreneurial growth motivation. Self-transcendence values were correlated with a small effect whilst conservation values showed significant correlation though their influence could not be statistically measured. No evidence was found of a relationship between openness to change values and entrepreneurial growth motivation. There needs to be more culture specific policies for township entrepreneurs and cultural values can be investigated on how they influence businesses in South African townships.Item The urban logic: a timber processing factory empowering rural ares through value addition(2019) Ndlovu, Menziincreased the interdependence between rural and urban dwellers - the resources they offer each other is the common thread that pulls them closer together. While this has introduced various forms of innovation in underdeveloped parts of South Africa, the balance between what the urban areas remove from the rural land versus what returns in the form of economic upliftment; industrial transformation; cultural and social development, as well as general living standards, is still very much debatable. This research explores how architecture can improve the value chain between rural and urban areas in order to improve the balance these two areas share, by looking at activities that can be performed in rural areas using the raw material harvested, before the material is moved to urban areas for further processing. The research process begins by looking at a broad social economic plan; the infrastructural plan to make it work; and a small intervention where these issues will be addressed. By moving activities within the supply chain previously only dedicated to and reserved for urban areas closer to rural areas, it not only keeps the supply chain safely intact but improves the context and value found in rural areas. This begins to create an organic platform for ancillary economic movement to start building, in the hopes to improve industrial sustainability. The building is an industrial timber processing factory in northern KwaZulu-Natal that allows the context to feed into it. The main activity, amongst many others this factory does, is take wood harvested from the forests plantations of northern KZN and add an additional step where it processes it into wood fibers, to be transported in larger quantities than previously possible to the urban industrial areas where the final stage of production takes place. In a social context of poor living standards due to lack of economic activity this building aims to – parallel to wood processing work – lend itself as a community workspace in order to be the focal point for skills development where locals can utilise the timber processing equipment, cultural transformation and most importantly a port for other industries to plug-in. The architecture looks to welcome back the design principles so often lacking in current industrial buildings - these principles present a great opportunity to effect social change over and above industrial functions. Parallel to that, it questions the function of a factory in a rural setting and re-imagines its function through design and program. The farmer sells his corn for R2.00, after production it is sold back to him as popcorn at R10.00 – the farmer cannot afford the end product of his own labour. The tensions between urban and rural; raw and finished product and, architectural design and industrial engineering, are exposed and given the spotlight in the search for economic transformation and social balance in the value chain.Item Balance-of-payment constrained growth : the case of South Africa(2018) Ntshwanti, MzwaneleThe paper contributes to the theory of balance of payments constrained growth, particularly by testing whether the South African balance of payments equilibrium growth rate can explain the actual growth rate in the economy. The paper uses Thirlwall’s law and its methodology for estimations. Running an ordinary least squares regression on the quarterly data from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) on exports, imports, exchange rate, price of exports, price of imports and actual growth rate from 1960 - 2016, it shows that the South African economy is balance of payments constrained. Policy positions on exchange rate and export promotion are discussed and policy recommendations are presented.Item Happiness disparities in South Africa: an analysis of trends and determinants(2018) Mathentamo, QaqambileThe fast-growing prominence of happiness inequality is accompanied by a slow growth of happiness inequality literature. The happiness inequality literature is coming amidst growing concerns about the legitimacy of income inequality as a measure of inequality. The paper aims to be part of the growing happiness inequality literature by investigating these following equations: Is happiness inequality also increasing similarly to income inequality in South Africa, and how do determinants of happiness affect happiness inequality? South Africa is an unequal society it is therefore, imperative to ascertain whether inequality is high when inequality is measured in happiness inequality. Happiness inequality (decreasing) trends differently from income inequality (increasing). This means that happiness inequality may be a supplement measure of inequality together with income inequality since happiness inequality is decreasing. In addition, this paper’s trend findings are limited since the paper’s trend is based on only four years of survey. It is possible that a longer period of data might show a different trend. Some of the paper’s determinants results are similar to previous studies; especially the relationship between income inequality and happiness inequality. Previous studies found no relationship between income inequality and happiness inequality, the paper founds the same results.Item The Relationship between labour productivity and economic growth in South Africa from 2000-2016(2017) Manamela, Kgwaradi ButiLabour Productivity is associated with the acceleration or slowing down of the rate of economic growth, at times without discerning the extent of the relationship between the two. The relationship is generally assumed and in the context of South Africa, it is mostly regarded as negative without an in-depth study of the nature of the relationship and concrete proposals on what should be done to turn it into a positive relationship. Now, especially after the global economic crises, there is a need to understand the nature of the relationship and how what consideration should be made by policy makers to take South Africa out of a growth slump. This quantitative study examines the relationship between labour productivity and economic growth from 2000 to 2016 in South Africa. The study relies on Gross Domestic Production, labour productivity and total factor productivity sourced from the South African Reserve Bank from 2000-2016. The study then applies a simple linear regression method to determine the strength of the relationship between labour productivity and economic growth. The results shows that in the period under review the contribution of labour towards growth have declined significantly whilst the economy has become capital intensive. We conclude the study with recommendations for policy makers on what should be done to improve labour productivity and ensure that the economy is driven from capital intensity to labour intensity.
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