A Note on Infrastructure Quality in South Africa

The emphasis, both in research and in policy making, seems to be on more infrastructure, rather than better infrastructure. This research note aims to critically analyse the lack of quality indicators in infrastructure empirics and to redirect attention to improving infrastructure quality in its various forms in South Africa.Infrastructure, South Africa, quality, international trade, port facilities, binding constraints

Design Factory New Zealand: A co-creation space where students work in multidisciplinary teams with industry partners to solve complex problems

This workshop provided an opportunity for participants to work with Design Factory New Zealand (DFNZ) principles to experience learning as a multidisciplinary team, working on a complex problem. Participants had a chance to see how DFNZ acts as a transformation agent within students, staff, institution and the wider community. DFNZ as a curriculum allows students to explore new themes that challenge the usual paradigms. We encourage students to take ownership of their learning, to be open minded, and to have the freedom to respond to solutions without the shackles of a traditional design process driven by cost. By partnering with industry and exposing students to create solutions for real world problems, DFNZ has the aim of producing global citizens who have a better chance of succeeding in the workplaces of the future. Currently DFNZ has facilitated learning to students from Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Communication, Information Technology, Business, Design and Sports Science. Industry partners working with the DFNZ team tap into a pool of carefully selected and motivated students who are supported to come up with innovative and holistic solutions to their problems. Industry can use DFNZ as an opportunity to solve specific and existing needs of the company, or utilise fresh thinking to approach complex and wider issues. Involvement with the Design Factory can provide industry with critical strategic insight

Evaluating Africa’s comparative advantage in travel service exports

This paper tests the hypothesis that African countries reveal a comparative advantage in travel service exports empirically. The UNCTAD 2007 Handbook of Statistics (2008) is used to calculate revealed comparative advantage for 186 countries over 10 tradable service sectors using three different measures of the Balassa index. The results indicate that many African countries reveal a strong comparative advantage in travel service exports. Particularly, a band of countries with a vertical axis from South Africa to Ethiopia and a band of countries with a horizontal axis in the Sahel reveal promising results. If African countries are to benefit from the growth in world service exports, researchers and policy makers should note the massive potential for African travel exports, especially in the smaller destinations. Policies – including regional initiatives – to promote sustained growth in travel service exports are therefore of critical importance.Tourism, international trade, revealed comparative advantage, sub-Saharan Africa

Slaves as capital investment in the Dutch Cape Colony, 1652-1795

The Cape Colony of the eighteenth century was one of the most prosperous regions in the world. This paper shows that Cape farmers prospered, on average, because of the economies of scale and scope achieved through slavery. Slaves allowed farmers to specialise in agricultural products that were in high demand from the passing ships – notably, wheat, wine and meat – and the by-products from these products, such as tallow, skins, soap and candles. In exchange, farmers could import cheap manufactured products from Europe and the East. Secondly, the paper investigates why the relative affluence of the early settlers did not evolve into a high growth trajectory. The use of slaves as a substitute for wage labour or other capital investments allowed farmers to prosper, but it also resulted in severe inequality. It was this high inequality that drove the growth-debilitating institutions posited by Engerman and Sokoloff (2000). The immigration of Europeans was discouraged after 1717, and again during the middle of the century, while education was limited to the wealthy. Factor endowments interacted with institutions to create a highly unequal early South African society, with long-term development consequences.Slavery, Settler, Proto-industry, Eighteenth century, South Africa

From Competitive Balance to Match Attractiveness in Rugby Union

Professional sports leagues aim to provide attractive contests that maximise fan interest. Literature on the demand for professional sport suggests that fans derive utility from identifying with teams and from the quality of contests, which depends on uncertainty of outcome and demonstration of the skills required to excel at the game. Measures of the attractiveness of sports contests should incorporate these two dimensions of quality. This paper proposes measures of the attractiveness of rugby union matches corresponding to Newton’s gravity equation. These measures proxy the extent of uncertainty of outcome by the points margin between the participating teams and demonstration of playing skills by the total number of points scored in a match, respectively. Using hypothetical match scores, the paper shows that the most accurate of the proposed measures uniquely identify degrees of “attractiveness”. A comparison of major rugby leagues for the period 2006 to 2008 suggests that the Guinness Premiership provided the most attractive matches, followed by the Magners League and the Super 14.Economics of sport leagues, Rugby union, Competitive balance, Uncertainty of outcomes, Match attractiveness

South African mega-events and their impact on tourism

The 2010 FIFA World Cup, one of the largest mega-sport events, has stirred renewed interest in the benefits that a host country can derive from these events. While most predict a large increase in the number of tourist arrivals, the recent international literature suggest that ex ante studies are often too optimistic. South Africa has played host to numerous mega-events since 1994. Using a time-series auto-regressive model, we identify increases in tourism numbers for most of these events, controlling for a number of variables standard in predicting tourism flows. However, smaller events, especially those held during summer months, show little increase in tourist arrivals. We disaggregate tourism arrivals to show that, as expected, tourists from participating countries increase the most. Contrary to the international literature, we find little evidence of displacement. This could be as a result of off-season scheduling or because the relative size of these events does not reflect that of the FIFA World Cup or Olympic Games.sport, tourist arrivals, World Cup, developing countries

Using Match Attractiveness Measures to Evaluate the Structure of the Currie Cup

Recent remarks in the media suggest that the Currie Cup competition, the premier rugby union competition in South Africa, is in need of a revamp. This is not a new inclination; the structure of the Currie Cup has had numerous alterations over the preceding two decades. But why has the Currie Cup suddenly lost its glamour? Existing measures of competitive balance used in the economics of sports literature are found to be unsatisfactory for rugby union competitions. Using a new measure of match attractiveness, this paper shows that the existing Currie Cup performs poorly compared to the top rugby union competitions across the world. 21 years of Currie Cup rugby are assessed to determine which structure yields the most attractive rugby. It is found that it is not the number of matches or the format of the competition that determines the “attractiveness”, but rather how many teams participate. A structure where only the five Super 14 franchises compete yields the most attractive outcomes. Yet, even a competition of “five plus one” will be relatively more attractive than most current rugby union competitions, while also contributing to broadening participation and representation in South African rugby. A format is proposed where the five Super 14 franchises and one team open to promotion/relegation compete. The existing Vodacom Cup excluding the five Super 14-unions can be used as qualification tournament for the sixth team. Promotion for the sixth team should be determined on the highest league log points at the end of the tournament (Vodacom Cup) and not in a play-off match.Economics of sport leagues, Competitive balance, Match attractiveness, Rugby union, Currie Cup

Infrastructure in South Africa: Who is to finance and who is to pay?

Against the backdrop of shifting views on the role of government in the provision of infrastructure, this paper distinguishes between the payment for and financing of the South African Government’s infrastructure investment programme. The paper also presents a classification system that enables a systematic mapping of all prospective projects, with reference to considerations of efficiency and equity. This mapping should assist in macro planning and in any analysis of the financial implications of project financing and cost recovery at all levels of government. The government’s financing strategy is questioned and alternatives are identified. The prospects for mobilising funds other than tax revenue are assessed, namely government loans, private equity, development finance and donor funds. Four investment projects are considered with a view to testing the classification system and evaluating the chosen financing options in terms of economic criteria.Infrastructure financing, government loans, benefit taxation, guarantees, private-public partnerships, South Africa

A survey and comparison of luxury item ownership in the eighteenth century Dutch Cape Colony

What we know about the material culture of eighteenth century Cape Colony settlers is mostly limited to qualitative evidence found in official documents, letters, travel accounts and other correspondence. This paper uses a new quantitative source – the MOOC probate inventories – to ascertain the nature, growth and distribution of luxury good ownership in the Cape Colony. The survey reveals a marginal increase over the course of the eighteenth century in per capita ownership, although the trend masks greater movements within different wealth groups, which supports the notion of high inequality within the European society at the Cape. Yet, even given such inequality, the evidence suggests that even the poorest had access to the most basic amenities. In fact, comparisons with European and North American regions suggest that the Cape settlers were often more affluent, refuting the notion that the Cape Colony was an “economic and social backwater”.South Africa, Cape Colony, French Huguenots, VOC, wine, slaves

The Determinants of African Tourism

Using a standard panel gravity equation of 175 origin/destination countries between 1995 and 2008, 37 of which are African, we identify the factors that drive African-inbound (arrivals to Africa from other continents) and within-African tourism (arrivals from and to an African country). We find that the determinants of African-inbound and within-African tourism are not all that different from global tourism flows; repeat tourism, income, distance, land area and the standard dummy variables not only drives global or OECD tourism, but also tourism within Africa, disproving the belief that African tourists "differ substantially". Not only does the growth in tourism over the last decade provide encouraging signs for the continent, but these results show that policy makers can now play an active role in promoting African tourism, both from outside but especially from within the continent's borders.sub-Saharan, Africa, gravity model, cause, trade, VFR