A priority for the post-apartheid government was the extension of basic infrastructure services to the vast majority of citizens that were not serviced under apartheid. The Reconstruction and Development Programme set objectives for each of these utilities that would be achieved in the first decade of democracy, while departmental policy…

This study evaluates South African privatisation or restructuring programme. In the main, it has largely focused on divestiture of "non- core business" such as broadcasting stations, resorts, and related services in the transport sector as well as selling minority stakes in utilities to so-called strategic equity partners and Black Economic…

The debate around the privatisation of state owned assets has focused around economic efficiency gains and regulation. Very few studies have considered the fiscal impact of privatisation on the tax-payers. Even the few empirical studies conducted were done in industrialised countries where institutions and markets are well developed. This paper…

Under Government's GEAR policy, high levels of expenditure on social services (i.e. Social Development, Health, Education and Housing), failed to bring about a reduction in poverty and unemployment. The Government, in particular the National Treasury, blamed this outcome on the inefficiency in the delivery of social services. The "Left", especially…

The aim of this paper is to investigate the empirical relationship between productivity, real wages and unemployment in South Africa using appropriate time series econometric techniques. The value of this approach is that it imposes no a priori theoretical assumptions on the relations between the variables, but rather allows the…

Mainstream economics and the Washington Consensus caution against industrial policies that target sectors, firms and regions. At the most they favour cross-sectoral policies which address generalised market failures. This paper analyses the success of an industry-specific policy, South Africa's Motor Industry Development Programme. It documents significant learning processes and shows…

The purpose in this paper is to provide a framework for the analysis of the relationship between different macroeconomic, sector and commodity policies and the multiplier effects of agriculture. To this end, the paper starts with a listing of the macroeconomic, sector and commodity policies that have been included in…

This report was prepared for National Treasury to support its assessment of administered prices in South Africa. The objective of the study was to assess the processes involved in setting prices in regulated industries. By evaluating the efficiency, effectiveness and analytical rigour of the regulatory processes involved in setting prices…

The links between BEE and competition policy are outlined in the Competition Act of 1998. It is recognised in the preamble to the Act that competition law has to specifically address the excessive concentration of ownership and control of the economy and the unjust restrictions on the full participation of…

In this paper we aim at identifying the determinants of South African currency premia in order to assess the scope of South African economic policies to narrow the spread on local-currency denominated debt. South Africa is one among very few emerging economies able to borrow long-term abroad in its own…

The South African financial sector, defined as the banking, insurance and securities industries, has contributed to the growth of the economy since democracy in terms of growth in assets and value added, although its provision of financial services to the poor has been less impressive. The article takes a broad…