Remaining at the margins: Case study of farmworkers in the North West Province,South Africa

This article explores living conditions, livelihoods and prospects of farmworkers with regard to land reform legislation. Research was conducted from 2004 to 2010 on four farms in the North West Province, interviewing farmworkers and farm owners. Representatives of the agricultural union Agri North West and land analysts were interviewed to obtain their perspective on farm labour. Despite protective legislation, farmworkers' living and working conditions have deteriorated. Farmworkers further lack alternative livelihood options, perpetuating their dependency on farm owners, who are the only ones providing services and some social security. Among the main barriers in the empowerment of farmworkers are limited insights regarding complex social relationships on farms, the challenge to address the specificity of power relations, and the marginalised position of farmworkers and their lack of agency in the broader political system. Both farmworkers and farm owners need support structures and strengthened institutional capacity to gradually change power dynamics.     

The Measurement of Technical Efficiency Using Frontier Production Functions of Rice Farms in West Java 1

Information from the Patanas survey of 1983/84 was used to estimate frontier production functions for rice farmers from four villages in West Java. The results indicate that rice farmers in these regions were technically efficient in their rice production.     

Sub-national population policy: the case of North Sulawesi

Since the 1970s, Indonesia has placed increasing emphasis on the development of stronger planning capacity at the regional level; however, the concept of regional autonomy is still viewed with suspicion given Indonesia's history of regional separatist movements. This fact has implications for the need for national population policy to be formulated and implemented with a view toward the varying conditions faced by different provinces and regions. The author presents a case study of fertility, mortality, migration, urbanization, and the development of human capital in 1 Indonesian province--North Sulawesi--to illustrate that special characteristics and internal diversity can demand individualized responses by policy makers. In terms of these 5 areas, the following observations can be made about conditions in North Sulawesi: 1) mortality rates are already below the national average, although infant mortality remains unacceptably high; 2) fertility rates are also well below the national average and approaching replacement level without any aggressive family planning outreach activities, but there remains a need to identify the ultimate fertility target and the extent to which intervention is required; 3) there is little scope for absorbing transmigrants, but there are some major issues regarding population redistribution within the province; 4) although there are no large cities, the increasing dominance of Manado is a concern; and 5) the quality of education and an employment structure to match the well-educated labor force are more important than an expansion of these services. A central concern is the ability of North Sulawesi to prevent "brain drain" to Jakarta; however, the province's capacity to do so is dependent on decisions made in Jakarta about the allocation of revenue, regulations regarding the processing of copra and cloves, new air routes, and the extent of regional autonomy to be tolerated in decisions affecting provincial growth.     

Subsidisation of Upland Conservation in West Java: The Citanduy II Project 1

The Citanduy II Project's model farm program on steep slopes in West Java was started in 1981 with the dual goals of reducing erosion and increasing farmer incomes. Limited success in reaching both goats has been achieved. Subsidies used to implement the program, however, could have been allocated more efficiently.     

Rural Economic Change and Labour Mobility: A Case Study From West Java

The paper uses data from six West Java villages which were surveyed in 1976 and again in 1983 to examine the impact of temporary migration, mainly to urban areas, on the rural economy. It finds that despite substantial increases in rice production in the region in the years under discussion, a large proportion of the extra employment opportunities were in non-agricultural occupations in urban areas. Households from all socio-economic strata appear to have benefited from these employment opportunities However much of the employment was seasonal in nature and most migrants returned to the village to take up agricultural employment at peak periods.     

Labour market discrimination in the North West province of South Africa

This article provides an econometric estimate of labour market discrimination in the North West province of South Africa. Using data obtained from the October 1995 Household Survey, it was found that in 1995 statistically significant gender discrimination exists against women in North West's labour market. The male discriminatory wage advantage of 127 per cent and the female discriminatory disadvantage of 195 per cent were ascribed to the overrewarding and underrewarding of some personal characteristics of males and females, respectively. Productivity differentials of 40 per cent in favour of females and a premium paid to women measuring 71 per cent also exist. Discrimination explains 50 per cent of the wage gap between genders, while productivity differentials and the premium account for 13 and 37 per cent respectively. The study supports 'affirmative action' and suggests policies that aim to alter the occupational distributions, and these may need to target educational decisions made prior to labour market entry.     

The determinants of rural and urban household poverty in the North West province of South Africa

Based on standard poverty measures, the extent of poverty in the North West province is on average worse than in South Africa. For instance, the poverty gap ratio for North West is twice that of the South African average, and the FGT index is three times as high. This article therefore aims to identify the determinants of rural and urban poverty in the North West province of South Africa. Using data gathered from a survey of 593 black households across the province, probit model estimates suggest that the major significant determinants of household poverty in both rural and urban areas are education and household size. A difference between rural and urban poverty is, first, that extra female adults in a rural household raise the probability of poverty. Secondly, having a migrant (out) worker as head of the household in rural areas lowers the probability of poverty, while this does not apply to urban households. A sensitivity analysis for the robustness of the results over a range of poverty lines reveals that the impact of education is much stronger for poorer households than for more wealthy households.     

Infrastructure and Industrial Development: The Case of Central Java

Industrial development does not take place in all regions at the same speed. This paper seeks explanations for regional differences in the development of manufacturing industry in Central Java. Special attention is paid to the impact of infrastructure (roads, telecommunications, electricity) on industrial development. The spatial distribution of manufacturing industry is analysed by means of both secondary data at the kabupaten level and primary data on 274 firms in various parts of Central Java. In addition to demand side factors, infrastructure does indeed play an important role, but local government bureaucratic procedures for obtaining land and permits are also important.     

Determinants of labour force participation in the North West province of South Africa

Based on data extracted from the 1995 October Household Survey of Statistics South Africa, this study has found that potential income is a major factor in labour force participation by African women in the North West province of South Africa. Other significant determinants of participation for both genders are age, education, region, marital status and relationship to the head of the household. The results imply that significant discrimination against African women still exists in the North West province, which partly explains the much lower participation rate for African women (64 per cent), compared with that of African men (86,5 per cent). The study supports the North West government's development strategy of developing human resources to eradicate poverty.     

The impact of the Saldanha Steel Project on the West Coast economy

This article reports the results of a study which evaluated whether the erection of the steel plant at Saldanha/Vredenburg supports the main objectives of the SDI programme and has resulted in sustainable growth for the region. It investigates the reasons for locating the steel plant here and factors which may affect the long‐term economic success of the plant. It also records the experiences of business people in the region on the impact of the investment on the area's economy to date and their perceptions of its likely impact in the future. From a national perspective, it asks whether the growth in foreign exchange earnings and the extension of a waning industry's lifespan is enough to justify public sector investment in the infrastructure at Saldanha Bay. On a local level, it probes and reports on the extent to which the erection of the steel mill spurred further growth via an enlarged set of activities, higher average productivity, higher savings, and improved actual and expected prospects for earning income.     

南与北的重庆之约

2019年10月22日,一列来自重庆的中欧班列,在新疆乌鲁木齐中欧班列集结中心加挂了两组发往荷兰鹿特丹的集装箱,继续前往欧洲。这种集拼集运的运输模式,是重庆与新疆合作落实国家"一带一路"倡议、推进中欧班列高效运行的有力之举,不仅让新疆本地产品搭上了中欧班列(渝新欧)的便车,还为中欧班列集拼集运模式常态化运行提供了有力支撑。     

我国新时代南北经济发展差距变化趋势

进入新时代以来,随着南北经济分化加剧,平衡南北成为我国区域协调发展重要理论和实践问题。文章深入考察了我国新时代南北经济发展差距变化趋势。文章首先通过偏离-份额法分析得出2015-2020年北方经济趋弱的原因在于其三次产业差异性竞争力均处于劣势地位、失去了第二产业结构性竞争优势;其次,进一步将差异性因素划分为区位性、机制性两方面,选取2003-2018年省级面板数据,运用计量经济学模型和地理探测器模型检验了区位性-结构性-机制性三大经济影响因素;另外,面向形成新发展格局和实现双碳战略目标,北方区位将迎来发挥优势的契机;产业结构调整、能源转型和发展动力转型是北方结构转型的重点;南北平衡发展更亟待制度和战略创新;最后,提出加快北方发展、促进南北均衡的若干对策建议。文章试图为挖掘缩小我国南北经济差距的可能因素提供科学分析框架,期望对平衡南北发展有所助益。     

Performance of land reform projects in the North West province of South Africa: Changes over time and possible causes

Anecdotal evidence as well as selected studies on the performance and progress of South Africa’s land reform programme generally present mixed to rather negative results. Few longitudinal studies exist on the progress of redistributed farms, resulting in an incomplete picture of the performance and progress of land reform projects. In this article, we report on the progress and performance of a group of land reform projects in the North West province of South Africa over five years. As part of a comprehensive audit of land reform projects in the North West province, 43 farms were studied in 2005 to assess their performance, based on their production status. Five years later, in 2010, 37 of these farms were visited again to review their progress. The results indicate that the production status (and thus performance) of land reform projects is not static. Although some projects either improved or maintained their initial production status, the overall trend shows deterioration in performance. Numerous factors are responsible for the decline, including group characteristics where farms are owned by groups of beneficiaries. This article is thus the first to use two surveys of a group of land reform projects to show the true status of farms in their post-transfer phase in South Africa.