Geographical Indications are goods that derive the uniqueness of their quality from the region where they originate. Provision for protection of such goods is provided for in the TRIPS Agreement among WTO member countries. This policy brief looks at some international examples where goods have been protected based on a…

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the main indicator used to measure economic activity. However, GDP is not designed to assess the welfare of a nation. This policy brief recommends the construction of a tailor-made sustainability indicator for South Africa, based on the Adjusted Net Savings methodology that would track the…

Emigration of highly skilled people has become an increasing concern in South Africa. While it is uncontested that such emigration can have detrimental effects in the form of a brain drain, this policy brief argues that South Africa could also draw some benefits from this emigration. It recommends that the…

The need to address sustained economic growth while simultaneously preserving the natural environment presents important policy challenges for countries such as South Africa. Growing concerns about climate change, a loss of biodiversity, and the poor management of natural resources such as forests and water all indicate that the benefits of…

Southern African Development Community (SADC) members signed the Trade Protocol in 1996, however progress in the region to reap the benefits purported to accompany regional economic integration appears limited. Although SADC has adopted a growth and development through trade strategy, indications are that more needs to be done to implement…

Countries in Southern Africa have only recently begun considering the possibility of jointly developing comprehensive industrial policies under the auspices of regional integration bodies such as the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). Regional co-operation in industrial policy design and implementation has the potential to both identify and capitalise on the…

For many African states, negotiations to liberalise trade in services is a relatively new experience. Southern African Development Community (SADC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and East African Community (EAC) member states are set to negotiate services at several levels – regional, bilateral, multilateral and even at…

What if unemployed people in South Africa had a right – a real right – to a minimum level of regular work on decent terms? In 2005, India passed a law guaranteeing rural households up to 100 days of work a year, at minimum wage rates. Over 55 million households…

In 1997 the EU introduced a requirement that beef imports be traceable through a computerised system. To ensure continued access to the EU market, Botswana introduced the livestock identification and traceback system (LITS). The objectives  of this study are to estimate the costs associated with implementing the system and determine…

Globally, a rapid increase of mobile tertiary education seekers has been observed. In 2005, more than 2.7 million tertiary education students were studying in a country other than their own, representing an increase of about 61% since 1999.  Trade in education services is increasingly becoming important worldwide. Saner and  Fasel…