The impact of exchange rate volatility on international trade between South Africa, China and USA: The case of the manufacturing sector

The main objective of this paper is to examine the effect of exchange rate volatility on international trade. We show that the impact of exchange rate volatility on international trade could be either positive or negative depending on various reasons that are discussed in this study. We focus mainly on the manufacturing trade between the Republic of South Africa with the United States and China. Aggregated manufacturing industry data and disaggregated manufacturing data, disaggregated to the 4 digit level using the Harmonized System tariff 2009 is used to investigate the impact of exchange rate volatility on international trades. The finding of this paper represents a challenge for policy recommendations as it reflects the fact that various industries, sectors and subsectors of the economy of the Republic of South Africa are impacted differently by the volatility of the Rand/Yuan and Rand/Dollar exchange rates, respectively, therefore any policy that is drawn up to improve international trade needs to be done on an individual basis for each industry, sector and subsector respectively taking into account the various dynamics and characteristics of each

The impact of exchange rate volatility on international trade between South Africa, China and USA: The case of the manufacturing sector

The main objective of this paper is to examine the effect of exchange rate volatility on international trade. We show that the impact of exchange rate volatility on international trade could be either positive or negative depending on various reasons that are discussed in this study. We focus mainly on the manufacturing trade between the Republic of South Africa with the United States and China. Aggregated manufacturing industry data and disaggregated manufacturing data, disaggregated to the 4 digit level using the Harmonized System tariff 2009 is used to investigate the impact of exchange rate volatility on international trades. The finding of this paper represents a challenge for policy recommendations as it reflects the fact that various industries, sectors and subsectors of the economy of the Republic of South Africa are impacted differently by the volatility of the Rand/Yuan and Rand/Dollar exchange rates, respectively, therefore any policy that is drawn up to improve international trade needs to be done on an individual basis for each industry, sector and subsector respectively taking into account the various dynamics and characteristics of each

If not now, when? Time for the European Union to define a global health strategy

Speakman, E. M., McKee, M., & Coker, R. (2017). If not now, when? Time for the European Union to define a global health strategy. Lancet Global Health, 5(4), e392-e393. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X%2817%2930085-

The impact of exchange rate volatility on international trade between South Africa, China and USA : the case of the manufacturing sector

M.Com. (Financial Economics)The main objective of this mini dissertation is to examine the effect of exchange rate volatility on international trade. The finding of this mini dissertation is however that the impact of exchange rate volatility on international trade could be either positive or negative depending on various reasons that will be discussed when the arguments of the theorists that have either found a positive, negative and sometimes indeterminate effect of exchange rate volatility on international trade are discussed. The focus of this mini dissertation will be on the manufacturing trade between the Republic of South Africa with the United States and China. The need for an analysis of exchange rate volatility on international trade arises from the fact that firstly no consensus has been reached on the true effect of exchange rate volatility on international trade and secondly knowledge of what the true effect of exchange rate volatility is on international trade could assist in drafting the appropriate policies at government level. The finding of this mini dissertation represents a challenge for policy recommendations as it reflects the fact that various industries, sectors and subsectors of the economy of the Republic of South Africa are impacted differently by the volatility of the Rand/Yuan and Rand/Dollar exchange rates, respectively, therefore any policy that is drawn up to improve international trade needs to be done on an individual basis for each industry, sector and subsector respectively taking into account the various dynamics and characteristics of each. Firstly in the literature review a detailed discussion of both sides of the exchange rate volatility debate will be outlined. It would be shown why there is a lack of consensus when it comes to the issue of what effect exchange rate volatility has on international trade. On the one hand the argument of those suggest that exchange rate volatility hampers international trade or has a negative effect on international trade, such as Sekantsi, (2008); Onafowora and Owoye, (2008); Chit, (2010); Vergil, (2008); Arize et al, (2000); Arize and Malindretos, (2002); Klaasen, (2004) and Doganlar, (2002), will be reviewed. The argument of those that say that in fact exchange rate volatility has no impact on international trade, such as Raddatz, (2008); Frankel, (2007); Arize and Malindretos, (2002); Arize et al, (2000); Klaasen, (2004); Chowdhury, (1993) and Hassan and Sukar, (1999), will also be reviewed. This discussion and the results that arise from exploring this debate have very important implications on the recommendations that are passed on to government to be considered when drafting policies, such as the New Growth Path (NGP). Secondly when the background of the manufacturing industry in South Africa is discussed, all the initiatives and policies such as the NGP that government has planned and put in place in order to rejuvenate the manufacturing industry will be outlined. The impact of exchange rate volatility on international trade has a direct impact on these policies. Recommendations regarding how best enhance the policies to rejuvenate the manufacturing industry cannot be possibly made when consensus about the impact of exchange rate volatility has not be reached. For this reason it was it imperative that the true impact of exchange rate volatility on international trade be made clear

Water conservation and water demand management pilot project: the case of Newcastle Municipality

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering, 2016The Newcastle Local Municipality (NLM) has been experiencing water supply interruptions since 2010 due to high demand. Between June 2011 to December 2011, water losses ranged from 49% to 62% (about 23 to 30 megalitres per day) in Madadeni and Osizweni townships (Newcastle East). The suburban areas (i.e. Newcastle West) also experienced water interruptions due to collapsing and/or aging infrastructure. About a thousand households in Madadeni were involved in this study to find the cause of the high water losses. Awareness campaigns, repairing household leaks, installation of intelligent meters and the increase of free basic water in indigent households from 6kℓ to 12kℓ per month reduced water losses from about 246 kℓ to 177kℓ per month. If similar Water Conservation (WC) and Water Demand Management (WDM) could be rolled out to the 35 000 households in the NLM and similar results to those in Madadeni are attained, conservative water saving of about 21Mℓ per day could be achieved. This would reduce the demand on the Ngagane Water Treatment Works (WTW) by 20%.CK201