Knowledge-based service industry in a South African university town: The case of Stellenbosch

Knowledge-based service industries, because they are geographically ‘footloose’, have the potential to contribute to small town and city economies. The university town of Stellenbosch, identified as having a high growth potential, is the location of a growing IT and knowledge-based service sector. Data from questionnaires completed by 104 Stellenbosch companies provided some insight into why they chose this town. Most said that, provided sufficient IT is available, they would be able to function as effectively in another town. This implies that they locate in Stellenbosch as a matter of preference rather than necessity. The paper provides insights into the reasons for the spatial clustering in South African non-metropolitan areas and how companies decide where to locate.     

Reassessing public expenditure priorities: The case of education in South Africa

This paper highlights one of the central challenges facing the present South African government ‐ meeting the strong demands for increased and more equitable provisions of education and maintaining fiscal discipline. This task need not be daunting, as theory and evidence suggest that there is considerable scope for rationalising the existing state provision of social services in South Africa to make them more equitable and efficient. We employ an economic theory of clubs and argue that the provision of basic education should be prioritised while the subsidisation of sophisticated and higher levels of education should be reconsidered. More specifically, the qualitative upgrading of basic schooling deserves more priority from the state while subsidies to exclusive schools and to university students need review. Such rationalisations should encourage sustained economic growth and enable the state to meet its RDP objectives without compromising its commitment to fiscal discipline. However, to achieve this the state will have to resist the strong pressures for the continued provision of services which bestow large private benefits on privileged groups.     

Unemployment: The role of the public sector in increasing the labour absorption capacity of the South African economy

The critical proportions of unemployment and the mainly structural nature of the problem necessitate a re‐evaluation of policy measures in order to foster a pro‐poor growth and development process in South Africa. The propblem could be addressed by implementing an integrated and comprehensive policy package. The public sector expenditure programme is a potent policy measure for stimulating employment growth in the economy. It is argued that a restructuring rather than an expansion of the public sector expenditure programme can result in short‐term, enduring employment effects. The restructured public sector expenditure programme should include characteristics of special employment programmes, focusing on the procurement and provision of more labour‐intensive goods and services and a reorientation of expenditure programmes in favour of the unemployed and the poor.     

The mini farmer approach: A case study of the South African tea industry

This article analyses the concept of mini farming on tea estates in South Africa from the point of view of the farmer and the estate. Although mint farmers who participate in these schemes are subjected to strict controls, they enjoy more freedom than labourers. The article shows the relative merit of the mini farming concept in the tea industry, and thereby contributes to the current debate on agricultural restructuring in South Africa.     

Flexibility in input substitution: A case study of South African agriculture

Differences in elasticities of substitution between agricultural inputs over time in South African agricultural production were measured. The translog functional specification was used for empirical estimation of factor share equations derived from cost data. This was done by using duality that exists between the production function and the cost function along the expansion path. South African agriculture exhibits less flexibility in dealing with input price variation, especially machinery, than US agriculture. The relative rigidity of the South African agricultural production process may at least partially be attributed to present competitive structures, and has important implications for development policy, especially with regard to the success obtained with policy measures favouring relative input subsidisation over the short term.     

Connecting to global markets in the Internet age: The case of South African wooden furniture producers

This article assesses the extent to which Internet connectivity and electronic commerce have the capacity to assist South African wooden furniture producers (SAWFPs) in securing improved access to international markets. The current pressures of globalisation and the challenge to direct overseas market expansion underscore the importance of e-commerce for the local wooden furniture sector. The article argues that while e-commerce capabilities are not a substitute for a systematic export strategy, they are nonetheless important for SAWFPs, as they are struggling to compete in a globalised and interconnected world that is organised around integrated trading systems and networked communication and information flows. However, participation in e-commerce by SAWFPs is currently very limited owing to a variety of factors, such as lack of infrastructure and awareness, high costs of Internet connectivity and inadequate skilled human resources. The article discusses the implications of the findings for policy.     

Contributing to the African Renaissance vision: The role of South African higher education institutions

President Mbeki is emphasising the vision of an African Renaissance in many of his public addresses. Many multifaceted inputs are required to realise this vision, and human resources development is one of the cornerstones of this ideal. South African higher education institutions could play a major role in this quest by sharing their expertise to upgrade the scientific, economic and educational competencies of all people in Africa. Data analysis shows considerable potential for attracting students from Africa, especially from the Southern African Development Community, to study at South African institutions. Current initiatives for facilitating intellectual mobility across the country's borders lack vision, however. Academic exchange programmes in other countries could serve as models to kick-start the contributions of higher education institutions in South Africa in realising Mr Mbeki's vision for an African Renaissance.     

The South African dream and the three stumbling blocks

Most South Africans nurture a strong hope for a better future. The South African economy, however, has considerable problems with respect to both growth and employment, which in turn reduce the scope for redistribution of the national income. This article deals with a number of stumbling blocks that the political and economic decision makers may be tripped by and which may make the South African dream nothing but a dream. These are: obstacles to growth, increasing economic and social differences, and unfavourable political development.     

Applying the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) for public bodies in the South African context: the eThekwini experience

The eThekwini municipality's most recent State of the Environment (SOE) report was released in July 2005 and used the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) sustainability reporting guidelines as a guiding framework. This method was novel in the development of a SOE report and many of the decisions reached were without precedent in the South African context. This paper relates the experiences of the team responsible for developing the report. It describes how the GRI was used and assesses the advantages and disadvantages of using the guidelines for public bodies in this context. It also explores the broader principles of corporate citizenship and the applicability of these to a public body.     

浅析公共部门人力资本产权之本质

目前学术界对人力资本产权概念的界定非常多，主要来说可以分为以下两类：一类是把人力资本产权理解为人力资本所有权。另一类是从企业产权角度理解人力资本产权，认为人力资本产权问题是人力资本所有者能否拥有企业所有权，即企业控制权和剩余索取权。