Working Paper 113 - Monetary Policy Conduct Based on Nonlinear Taylor Rule: Evidence from South Africa

This paper analyses the applicability of a nonlinear Taylor rule in characterizing the monetary policy behavior of the South African Reserve Bank, using a logistic smooth transition regression approach. Using quarterly data from 1976 to 2008 to analyze the movement of the nominal short term interest rate for the South African Reserve Bank, we find that a nonlinear Taylor rule holds. On the contrary, some studies find that the South African Reserve Bank behavior can be described by a linear Taylor rule, but only because these studies removed the structural break which coincided with the Asian crises and estimated two different Taylor rules. Our study does not remove the structural break as it is an anomaly path, thus it uses the entire sampling period. Our results go counter to the above mentioned findings. In fact, our results are consistent with the international findings on the European Central Bank and the Bank of England that the nonlinear Taylor rule holds.

Quality Assurance-Student Involvement Confluence: Exploring Gaps and Implications for Higher Education Institutions in Zimbabwe

Since postulation, the student involvement (SI) theory of development by Alexander Astin has been crucial in reconfiguring and maximizing the higher education experience through improving the quality. Student-input is instrumental in examining student-experience and managing the quality in higher-education-institutions (HEIs). Amidst industrial revolutionary technologies that transcend bureaucratic procedures governing HEIs, involving students, most of whom are technologically savvy, potentially sparks innovation. Transitioning from education 3.0 to doctrine education 5.0 has implications of quality assurance (QA)-student involvement (SI) confluence on Zimbabwe’s HEIs. Two out of nine HEIs in Matabeleland were selected for convenience of location. Findings show SI should precede QA outcomes although HEI practices do-not reflect this important means-to-an-end-relationship. To attain quality under the doctrine, SI must satisfy students on all doctrine 5.0’s standards. Few HEI-programmes target SI for QA. Programming gaps affect student-learning, hence innovative learning-systems must respond to evolving societal-needs and satisfy students-diversity including in curriculum-development; staff-quality; and research and development-projects. Thus, SI reflects placation at best and tokenism at worst. Government/HEIs must export leading academics, fund their attainment of updated skills-set from modernised countries, and deploy them to reorient HEI programmes while concurrently modernising industries to ensure newly attained skills have platforms for applicability

Education and Training Outcomes: University Graduates in Zimbabwe During the 1980s

A ZJER research survey.Despite the undoubted importance of university educated personnel, relatively little is known about what graduates from UZ have done once they have completed their studies. The university itself conducted a first destination survey of graduates in 1989 (University of Zimbabwe, 1990) but no comprehensive tracer surveys have been undertaken of graduates who have been in the labour market for at least a few years. This article summarises the findings of a tracer survey of two groups of UZ graduates who first enrolled at the university in 1980-1981 and 1985. When properly undertaken (in particular when response rates are reasonably high), tracer surveys provide invaluable information on the current activities of individuals who have completed specific types of education and training. In fact, tracer surveys are increasingly seen as an integral component of a new approach to ‘manpower planning’ which relies primarily on micro-level ‘labor market analysis’ of well delineated occupations or occupational groups. (Bennell et al, 1991; Godfrey, 1991; Psacharopoulos, 1991

Institutional structures for student-inclusivity in quality assurance promotion in higher education: The case of one university in Zimbabwe

Researchers have investigated co-curricular and extracurricular activities associated with student learning and personal development but neglected exploring levels of students' involvement. IHLs oftentimes have no structures responsible for quality assurance (QA). Research should focus on specific structures, activities and the frequency of student involvement. Although Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education superintends over QA processes, it remains unclear which/how institutional structures foster student inclusivity in QA processes. Pragmatic research, marked by mixed methods was used to examine university QA structures for inclusivity. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics IHLs were targeted and purposive sampling helped select 15 QA office(rs) and SRC in one STEM university. Primary data from questionnaires and key informant interviews were used. Structures governing IHLs are prescribed by Acts of Parliament and the current frequency of involvement depends on meetings scheduled for IHL structures. This constricts effective involvement. Minimal involvement occurs in prescribed structures although more satisfying involvement is in student-initiated social clubs and organisations. IHL legislative instruments should be amended to reflect diversity in higher education; allow university Councils to tailor-make IHL institutional/infrastructural structures to deliver on their mandates than rely on prescribed one size fits all. Such change will foster more satisfying involvement for student socio-academic success

1995 fisheries statistics, Lake Kariba - Zimbabwe shore

The report provides catch records for the Kapenta and inshore fisheries in the Zimbabwean waters of Lake Kariba for the year 1995. Kapenta usually constitute about 90% of the total catch from Lake Kariba; for statistical purposes catches are recorded for the 5 hydrological basins - Mlibizi, Binga, Sengwa, Bumi and Kariba. Whereas kapenta represent a unit stock which is harvested by both Zimbabwe and Zambia, the artisanal fishery exploits inshore species which generally occupy water less than 10m deep along the shoreline, considered to be 2 separate stocks. The main species in the inshore fishery are Oreochromis mortimeri, Sargochromis codringtonii, Tilapia rendalli, Labeo altivelis, Hydrocynus vittatus, Mormyrus longirostris, Clarias gariepinus and Synodontis zambezensis

Upgrading wineries to biorefineries within a Circular Economy perspective: An Italian case study

In the challenge of transforming waste into useful products that can be re-used in a circular perspective, Italian wine industry can represent a suitable model for the application of the bioeconomy principles, including the valorisation of the agricultural and food waste. In the present study, a comprehensive environmental assessment of the traditional production of wine was performed and the potentiality of a biorefinery system, based on winery waste and aimed at recovering useful bio-based products, such as grapeseed oil and calcium tartrate, was examined through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The wine company "I Borboni", producing Asprinio wine in the Campania Region (Italy), was proposed as a case study. The hotspots of the linear production system were identified and the bottling phase, in particular the production of packaging glass, resulted to contribute to the generation of impacts at 63%, on average, versus 14.3% of the agricultural phase and 22.7% of the vinification phase. The LCA results indicated human carcinogenic toxicity, freshwater eutrophication and fossil resource scarcity impact categories as the most affected ones, with normalized impacts amounting to 9.22E-03, 3.89E-04 and 2.64E-04, respectively. Two side production chains (grapeseed oil and tartrate production) were included and circular patterns were designed and introduced in the traditional production chain with the aim of valorising the winery residues and improving the overall environmental performance. By implementing the circular approach, environmental impacts in the global warming, freshwater eutrophication and mineral resource scarcity impact categories, in particular, resulted three times lower than in the linear system. The results achieved demonstrated that closing the loops in the wine industry, through the reuse of bio-based residues alternatively to fossil-based inputs within the production process, and integrating the traditional production system with new side production chains led to an upgrade of the wineries to biorefineries, towards more sustainable production patterns. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

A comparative analysis of the nutritional status of children attending early childhood development centres in Gauteng, North-West and Limpopo Province, South Africa

The nutritional status of children is a valuable indicator of health status and can indicate inequalities in health faced by the populations. The preschool period is the critical stage of active development and growth of physical, social, and mental wellbeing of children. Children eating  patterns and food preferences develop over a lifetimeand are influenced by family, ethnicity, and social environment. The purpose of the study was to do a comparative analysis of the nutritional status of children aged 2 to 5 years attending early childhood development centres in South Africa. A quantitative descriptive design was used to assess the nutritional status of 872 children attending preschool in the Soshanguve, Moretele, and Makhuduthamaga areas, and data was collected using a structured, researcher-administered questionnaire. The variables collected were age, sex, weight, height, mid-upper arm circumference. Gender and agespecific BMI cut-off points were used to determine the nutritional status. The study sample consisted of 872 preschool children, of which 422 (48%) were males, and 450 (52%) were females. The prevalence of overweight; obesity, and undernutrition were 7.7%, 3.4%, and 3.2%, respectively. The findings of this study showed that in all ECDs areas, most of the male children had normal weight. In this study, the age of children (p=0.007), as well as ECDs area (p=0.000), influenced the BMI of the children (p=0.007), and that overweight was higher amongst older children, 4 & 5 years from rural ECD area. The prevalence of overweight amongst children was 4.2% (Soshanguve), 9.3% (Moretele), and 9.6% (Makhuduthamaga), and the prevalence of underweight amongst children was 3.9% in  Soshanguve, 2.7% in Moretele, and 3.1% in Makhuduthamaga. The prevalence of underweight was higher in urban ECD areas as compared to ECDs  in rural areas. In this study, overnutrition was more prevalent as compared to undernutrition. Therefore, there is a need for nutritional intervention which promotes a healthy lifestyle in preschools.&nbsp

Vitamin D: the role of the sunshine vitamin

The importance of vitamin D in physical disorders has been well documented. Deficiency in this vitamin is associated with a wide range of physical and mental disorders that include, heart problems, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, various cancers, and asthma. In mental health vitamin D deficiency is associated with schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, Alzheimer’s disease among others. Risk factors for vitamin D deficiency include darker skin, lack of adequate sun exposure, autoimmune diseases, influenza, old age and the use of certain medicines like anticonvulsants. Vitamin D is likely to play an important role in the management and prevention of various mental health problems. In particular, adequate vitamin D during the perinatal stage is likely to impact positively on the long term mental health of a person

Determinants of Economic Growth-The Case of Zimbabwe

The paper investigated the determinants of economic growth in Zimbabwe over the period 1980 to 2017 drawing from previously identified factors as discussed in international literature which had been acknowledged as important determinants. The variables included human capital, gross fixed capital formation, unemployment, inflation and government expenditure. The study employed Unit Root Tests. The Auto Regressive Distributed Lag model was used to examine the mixed variable while the Ordinary Least Squares model and the Johansen test were used to examine all stationary and non-stationary variables respectively. In the case of co-integration, the Error Correction Model and the Causality test were run. Ultimately, the results indicated that in the long-run gross fixed capital formation has a positive influence on economic growth while human capital development has a negative influence. ECM found that in the short run there is a positive relationship between lags of economic growth, government expenditure, inflation and human capital with economic growth