The objective of the workshop was to present preliminary results from two studies carried out in South Africa as part of a UK Department for International Development funded research project which has been looking at the impact of globalisation on poverty in four countries (Bangladesh, Kenya, South Africa and Vietnam).

The trade policy training workshop was a follow-up of a TIPS-hosted summer school by Alan L Winters, held during November 1999, that focussed on Trade Policy Tools. One of the aims of the Winters course was to expose researchers to various applied techniques to stimulate research in this area with a view to preparing an ongoing trade policy review of South Africa under the auspices of TIPS.

The aim of this seminar was to develop a rigorous economic framework to evaluate the SMME sector in South Africa. There is a rich tradition of SMME work in SA and our aim was not to simply reproduce another SMME report. Instead, to date the synergies between the mainstream economy and the SMME sector have been rather weak and the aim of the project was to simply contextualise the SMME sector in the larger economic debate in the country.

Jean-Jacques Laffont, Director of Institut De Economie Industrielle, Toulouse, and Professor of Economics at University of Toulouse and University of Southern California, Los Angeles, gave a lecture on the Political Economy of Competition and Regulation of Network Industries.

The aim of the Annual Forum was to focus on major economic problems in the region and to evaluate the role of global integration therein. Taking stock of the economy is an important starting point for any serious discussion of globalisation. The Annual Forum will focussed primarily on the South African economy, but experts from the greater Southern African region and abroad also contributed

Competition Law governs the nature and extent of competitive interaction among firms in all industries. It prohibits certain types of interaction and provides for a rule of reason approach to the assessment of the impact of other types of behaviour on competition. Economic principles therefore underpin this legislation. A sound understanding of the economic concepts and principles that form the foundation of Competition Law is therefore important.

An interactive session on the WTO: Globalization: The WTO and Sustainable Development.
Guest Speaker : Mike Moore Director General of the WTO)

A short course presented by TIPS & UCT School of Economics Whilst most economic course work focuses either on macroeconomic relationships or on their micro foundations, at the practical level of public sector policy analysts and policy makers, considerable attention is paid to the intermediate or meso level of economic analysis. Key sector analysis, sectoral impact studies, partial and general equilibrium trade and industry analysis are frequently conducted both in the public as well as the private sector.

Description

Aimed at Researchers and Policy-Makers, this was an applied trade bargaining course developed to fulfil the role of preparing countries for the new round of trade negotiations. Participants were given readings to familiarise them with the WTO, its processes and the issues that will be negotiated.

Abstract

The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. 

"We are not a bank in the common sense. We are made up of two unique development institutions owned by 185 member countries—the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). Each institution plays a different but supportive role in our mission of global poverty reduction and the improvement of living standards. The IBRD focuses on middle income and creditworthy poor countries, while IDA focuses on the poorest countries in the world. Together we provide low-interest loans, interest-free credit and grants to developing countries for education, health, infrastructure, communications and many other purposes."

Finance24 - 3 September 2003

South Africa's socio- economic performance since 1994 will come under the spotlight at a forum to be held in Johannesburg next week...

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