Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management (Research Outputs)

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Start date: 2024Subject: search.filters.subject.SDG-8: Decent work and economic growth

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    The policy we want: An economic policy for informal traders in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand (Southern Centre for Inequality Studies), 2025-04-04) Siphelele Ngidi; David Francis
    In 2024, SCIS, in partnership with WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalising and Organising), embarked on a research and policy project to develop an economic policy for informal traders in South Africa. The project gathered insights from individuals actively working in the sector, offering valuable perspectives for policymakers and stakeholders seeking to improve the conditions of informal traders and strengthen the informal trading economy. Based on these findings, we identified actionable policy recommendations to help create a more conducive environment for informal trading. The results are presented in a policy brief structured around eight key pillars, titled “The Economic Policy We Want.”
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    Business development services training and entrepreneurial self-efficacy – a focus on necessity- and opportunity-driven entrepreneurs
    (AOSIS Publishing, 2024) Msimango-Galawe, Jabulile; Eister, Tshegofatso
    Background: Entrepreneurs have been galvanised by the worsened economic circumstances in South Africa, and small businesses struggle to become established. By providing skills training, business development services (BDS) improve the performance of firms, through the development of entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Aim: The objective of this study was to determine the impact of BDS training on the entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) of necessity- and opportunity-driven entrepreneurs and whether that impact would be more positive in opportunity-driven rather than necessity-driven entrepreneurs. Setting: The study focused on 519 entrepreneurs in South Africa, of which 97 were necessitydriven and 422 were opportunity-driven. Methods: Statistical analyses were conducted using correlation analysis and multiple linear regression to test the impact of training on the ESE of necessity- and opportunity-driven entrepreneurs while controlling for the impact of confounding variables: gender, education, management experience, industry experience and partnerships. Results: The empirical evidence from this study showed that general entrepreneurial training is more effective in increasing the entrepreneurial self-efficacy of opportunity-driven entrepreneurs, whereas task-specific training was better suited for increasing the entrepreneurial self-efficacy of necessity-driven entrepreneurs. Conclusion: The implications and recommendations of this study are that policymakers should design general entrepreneurial training programmes targeted at opportunity-driven entrepreneurs and task-specific training programmes targeted at necessity-driven entrepreneurs. Contribution: This study enhances the understanding of the training needs of necessity-driven entrepreneurs and how they differ from opportunity-driven entrepreneurs concerning ESE and the growth of their businesses.
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    Macro Fiscal Review: Reflections on public finances ahead of the 2024 Budget Review
    (Southern Centre for Inequality Studies (SCIS), 2024-02) Amra, Rashaad; Sachs, Michael; Willcox, Owen; Madonko, Thokozile
    This policy note, published before the 2024 Budget Review tabling, reviews global and domestic economic developments and fiscal developments since the 2023 Budget Review and Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) were tabled. It considers the implications of these developments for public finances and the realisation of the state’s socioeconomic goals. This note discusses emerging expenditure pressures observed in the recent period, which would warrant government to consider in its formulation of the upcoming budget. It assesses government’s key fiscal projections presented in the 2023 MTBPS and Budget Review. And it presents the Public Economy Project’s own updated outlook for public finances – it incorporates updated economic and fiscal data, and adjusted expenditure assumptions. It further discusses the limitations of government’s current approach to fiscal policy, and presents possible adjustments that would allow for a more equitable and sustainable path for public finances.