This study examines the transformative role of VC investments in the growth and development of early-stage firms in South Africa and Kenya. While the importance of entrepreneurship in socioeconomic progress is recognized, the availability of sustainable funding for innovative early-stage firms...

This paper studies the emergence of violence in legal markets, with a particular focus on the informal public transport sector in South Africa, where minibus taxis are integral to urban mobility. Despite being a legal sector, the taxi industry is plagued by significant and persistent violence,...

South Africa represents a paradigmatic case in international literature on racial discrimination, illustrating a deeply institutionalised system that affected all aspects of daily life. Black, Coloured, and Asian populations were systematically relegated to a subordinate status compared to the...

The effects of minimum wages on workers and firms depend on enforcement and compliance. While most research examines local determinants, this paper explores whether international market enforcement influences minimum wage impacts. In South Africa farmers exporting to the EU must comply with...

Many observers see the Covid-19 crisis as marking a major shift in neoliberal globalization. We analyze this question from the perspective of South Africa. We argue that the 2020 crisis has not precipitated a major shift as much as it has rapidly accelerated trends which were already under way...

How can we make sense of the resurgence of the far right across the world? From the re-election of Donald Trump to the flourishing of Hindu nationalism under Narendra Modi, right-wing politicians have undoubtedly grown in prominence over the last decade. There is a burgeoning literature on this...

South Africa is one of the most unequal economies globally. In this paper, we examine the design of its personal income tax (PIT), with a focus on its redistributive function. We apply the Pfähler decomposition method to analyse the redistributive effects of key components of the South African...

Digital nomads strategies and remote working visa regimes have attracted attention of governments in economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in some countries, the execution of the remote working and digital nomads strategies; and amendment of immigration laws been problematic....

China has become a major global player in energy finance, infrastructure development and clean technology exports. This report explores the changing nature of China's engagement in energy transitions across Africa, with a focus on three key cases: Kenya, Mozambique and South Africa. Between 2010...

The global economic landscape has undergone significant transformation since the 2008 financial crisis, marked by rising protectionism, intensifying competition between major powers, and disruptions to trade and investment flows. These changes present both challenges and opportunities for...

This paper studies whether affirmative action policies towards the outsider group may foster a backlash by the insider one. We exploit the unique historical context provided by the legacy of apartheid in democratic South Africa. We found that the completion of the affirmative action legislation...

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, emphasising the importance of ensuring full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and...

In sub-Saharan Africa, child fostering-a widespread practice in which a child moves out of the household of her biological parents-can have significant implications for a child's overall well-being. Using longitudinal data from South Africa that includes individual tracking, we employ double...

The co-movement of multi-asset markets in emerging markets has become an important determinant for investors seeking diversified portfolios and enhanced portfolio returns. Despite this, studies have failed to examine the determinants of the co-movement of multi-asset markets such as investor...

The dynamic impact of financial market capitalisation on South Africa's unemployment and economic growth is empirically explored in this study using the finance-augmented Solow model framework. South Africa's high rate of structural unemployment and its robust financial market, which is at the...

South Africa represents a paradigmatic case in international literature on racial discrimination, illustrating a deeply institutionalised system that affected all aspects of daily life. Black, Coloured, and Asian populations were systematically relegated to a subordinate status compared to the...

This study explores the dynamics of marketing agricultural products in the coastal regions of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, through an analysis of existing literature and empirical data collected from selected participants to model farmers' marketing experiences and identifies an improvement...

The Internet of Things (IoT) represents a digital revolution that is defining global connections across sectors and people at a rapid pace. This extension of the internet beyond the electronic world transforms sectors and industries irrespective of their locality and core business. At the root...

This paper proposes that the South African Reserve Bank should pursue a 3% inflation target, instead of the current 4.5% midpoint of a 3%-to-6% target range. Doing so may also result in lower inflation volatility, thereby reducing nominal exchange rate risk for investment and trade, and may thus...

Many observers see the Covid-19 crisis as marking a major shift in neoliberal globalization. We analyze this question from the perspective of South Africa. We argue that the 2020 crisis has not precipitated a major shift as much as it has rapidly accelerated trends which were already under way...

South Africa's green transition will have major implications for its workforce. This note presents five strategies to prepare the workforce for the green transition. The note explores the implications of the green transition on labor and skills needs in South Africa, and assesses the readiness...

The new political context emerging from the May 2024 elections provides a unique opportunity for South Africa. The alignment of economic and political incentives, in the sense that improving the economy is essential for gaining political power, offers a platform to launch a decisive...

In tomorrow's world, the winners will inevitably be those who possess the knowledge to innovate and adapt to increasingly rapid technological advancements. In contrast, those who lack this knowledge will fall behind. There is consensus among policymakers that a well-functioning education system...

The new political context emerging from the May 2024 elections provides a unique opportunity for South Africa. The alignment of economic and political incentives, in the sense that improving the economy is essential for gaining political power, offers a platform to launch a decisive...

The new political context emerging from the May 2024 elections provides a unique opportunity for South Africa. The alignment of economic and political incentives, in the sense that improving the economy is essential for gaining political power, offers a platform to launch a decisive...

The new political context emerging from the May 2024 elections provides a unique opportunity for South Africa. The alignment of economic and political incentives, in the sense that improving the economy is essential for gaining political power, offers a platform to launch a decisive...

The new political context emerging from the May 2024 elections provides a unique opportunity for South Africa. The alignment of economic and political incentives, in the sense that improving the economy is essential for gaining political power, offers a platform to launch a decisive...

South Africa is one of the most unequal economies globally. In this paper, we examine the design of its personal income tax (PIT), with a focus on its redistributive function. We apply the Pfähler decomposition method to analyse the redistributive effects of key components of the South African...

Sin taxes are increasingly being used to discourage the consumption of goods perceived to harm individuals and society. This paper examines the impact of South Africa's Health Promotion Levy (HPL)-the first sugar tax implemented in Africa-on the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in...

This paper investigates the effect of commodity price shocks in a commodity-exporting small open economy, and the role of fiscal policy in transmitting these shocks to the rest of the economy. Using South African data, we first estimate an empirical model using a Bayesian vector autoregression...

How can we make sense of the resurgence of the far right across the world? From the re-election of Donald Trump to the flourishing of Hindu nationalism under Narendra Modi, right-wing politicians have undoubtedly grown in prominence over the last decade. There is a burgeoning literature on this...

This study investigates systemic risk, return patterns, and diversification within the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, utilizing data-centric approaches and the ARMA-GARCH vine copula-based conditional value-at-risk (CoVaR) model. By comparing three investment...

This study advances global understanding by introducing asymmetric structure into the causality between economic complexity and natural resource wealth in resource-rich countries, using the case studies of Nigeria and South Africa covering 1970-2021. This approach reveals hidden causality in the...

Despite advancements in renewable energy and technological innovation, significant gaps remain in the empirical literature, especially on gender-specific employment and wages. Coupling with the growing global shift towards renewable energy and technological innovation, motivated by the need to...