Displaying items by tag: Industrialisation

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states have placed industrial development at the core of the region’s integrated development agenda. This report by Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) and the Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis & Research (ZIPAR) is part of a programme that seeks to identify existing and potential opportunities to further the development of specific value chains among and across SADC member states.

The paper explores and assesses regional competitiveness and opportunities in the electrotechnical industry for both South Africa and Zambia. It offers an in-depth assessment of the structure and status of the electrotechnical value chain in these countries by presenting production and consumption patterns, input suppliers and producers, export markets for products from the sectors, as well as the import patterns in relevant subsectors. This research looks at these themes for the purpose of informing cross-cutting country policy initiatives based on a shared understanding of industrial development challenges at a regional level.

Greater regional integration would support economic diversification and industrialisation in Southern Africa by expanding markets for consumers and capital goods as well as drawing together capacities from different of countries. It would, however, require a greater degree of specialisation between nations to permit economies of scale. In this context, the concept of regional value chains proves useful in identifying opportunities for more integrated industrialisation. On the one hand, it underscores the potential for enhancing economic integration based on improved specialisation and competitiveness in the partner economies; on the other, it provides a framework for systematic analysis of factors that prevent investment and growth.

This working paper outlines the evolution of the value-chain concept as a way to understand opportunities for industrialisation. Using the value chain framework in the regional context shifts the focus away from global demand and partnerships to local and regional markets and relationships. It underscores the importance of managing the difficult trade-offs involved in deepening the regional division of labour. The second section of the paper describes the Southern African economy, which was unusually unequal and dependent on commodity exports. It also reviews existing trade in continental SADC. It evaluates the effects of freight transport as a cross-cutting constraint. A case study of copper manufacturing illustrates the utility of value chains to guide analysis. This section points to key blockages to diversification, notably the difficulty of improving coordination between national policies and challenges around reshaping the division of labour to promote regional industrialisation without excessive costs to South African producers.  

This Working Paper is a draft for a chapter in a book: Fortunato, P. ed. (Forthcoming). Productive  Transformation and Regional Value Chains in Southern Africa. UN: New York and Geneva

WIDER Working Paper 2019/70

This working paper, Assessment of demand in agro-processing machinery in the SADC region: A case study of the maize-milling machinery value chain in South Africa and Zambia, forms part of the project: Southern Africa – Towards Inclusive Economic Development (SA-TIED)

Abstract

The SADC Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap 2015–2063 aims to arrest deindustrialization and resuscitate manufacturing capabilities within the region. Agro-processing, the largest contributor to manufacturing in most of the member states, has been chosen as one of the growth paths to help the region reindustrialize. Because of its backward linkages with the agricultural industry and forward linkages into the diverse food industry, this subsector has received immense government support and private sector investment. However, the region faces important leakages in imports of machinery. This paper investigates whether the sector is stimulating additional manufacturing capabilities in agro-processing machinery, equipment, and parts, and whether these could drive capabilities, factor accumulation, and technological capabilitybuilding to capture the full value envisioned in the Roadmap.

Download Working Paper: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp-2019-70.pdf

TIPS acknowledges the support of the SA-TIED programme for this working paper, with special thanks to UNU-WIDER and the South African Department of Trade and Industry.

Session 4: NSI and the resourcing of innovation and R&D

Session 9: Innovation and sustainable growth and green industries, including the transtition to a low-carbon economy 

Session 11: Inclusive innovation to address poverty, unemployment and inequality 

WIDER Working Paper 2019/38

This working paper, Motorcycle parts and aftermarket industry regional value chain in Southern Africa, forms part of the project: Southern Africa – Towards Inclusive Economic Development (SA-TIED)

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the structure, key functions, and characteristics of the motorcycle parts and aftermarket industries in Southern Africa in order to identify challenges to and opportunities for growth in these industries. The research examines the end markets and utilization of motorcycles, the status of these markets, and demand for local or regional production processes. The paper also considers the main factors affecting the sales of motorcycles and their parts in the region and assesses whether a more coordinated approach between governments and foreign and local firms could lead to assembly and/or manufacturing value-added activity in the Southern African Development Community region.

Download Working Paper: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp-2019-38.pdf

TIPS acknowledges the support of the SA-TIED programme for this working paper, with special thanks to UNU-WIDER and the South African Department of Trade and Industry.

The current electricity model incorporates a paradox in which continual increases in price contribute to falling demand, which in turn leads to higher unit costs and prices. In this context, high levels of capital expenditure by Eskom have become a critical cost driver.

The contradictory response of raising prices in the midst of declining sales results in part from weaknesses in the regulatory framework for electricity prices, and in part from Eskom’s business model

This working paper reviews the factors behind stagnant Eskom sales. It then analyses why Eskom’s response to these changing conditions has become so paradoxical. It finds that Eskom’s path dependency is generated by the current regulatory framework for electricity prices combined with Eskom’s attachment to an outdated business model.

It then provides a systematic assessment of the costs, benefits and risks of three options for responding to the new conditions.

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Session 6: Industrial Development

Session 6: Industrial Development