Showing papers by "John M. Luiz published in 2009"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the key elements that South African financial services firms consider before making foreign direct investments in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) markets, and found that financial service firms are most strongly influenced by the political and economic stability of the country in question as well as the profitability and long-term sustainability of its specific markets.
56 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the role of institutions in promoting or hindering economic development in sub-Saharan Africa and the implications for doing business on the continent is discussed and the authors question our understanding of institutions and how they develop and warn against simplistic assumptions.
Abstract: The recent economic performance of Sub Saharan Africa has been very disappointing Its poverty has many dimensions and causes, both internal and external This paper focuses on the role of institutions in promoting or hindering economic development in Africa and the implications for doing business on the continent It questions our understanding of institutions and how they develop and warns against simplistic assumptions in this regard The paper examines how it is that institutions come to affect economic growth and the characteristics of what makes for good institutions Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
43 citations
TL;DR: This paper presented a survey of economics departments in South Africa and covered everything from staff profiles and qualifications to curricula, and research output, and indicated that there has been some improvement in the state of economics at South African universities since 2003 when the previous survey was conducted, but the gap between South African economics departments and their international counterparts remains large.
Abstract: Over the past decade, economics departments in South Africa have seen major changes and a certain level of disruption. Much of this can be attributed to the integration of our discipline into the global arena after a period of academic isolation. This paper presents a survey of economics departments and covers everything from staff profiles and qualifications to curricula, and research output. This paper indicates that there has been some improvement in the state of economics at South African universities since 2003 when the previous survey was conducted. Research output is largely up as is the proportion in international journals, and more researchers are producing in leading international economics publications. However, the gap between South African economics departments and their international counterparts remains large.
6 citations
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TL;DR: This article conducted a survey of economics departments and covered everything from staff profiles and qualifications, to curricula, and research output, showing that there has been some improvement in the state of economics at South African universities since 2003 when the previous survey was conducted.
Abstract: Over the past decade economics departments in South Africa have seen major changes and a certain level of disruption. Much of this can be attributed to the integration of our discipline into the global arena after a period of academic isolation. This paper presents a survey of economics departments and covers everything from staff profiles and qualifications, to curricula, and research output. This paper indicates that there has been some improvement in the state of economics at South African universities since 2003 when the previous survey was conducted. Research output is largely up as is the proportion in international journals and more researchers are producing in leading international economics publications. However, the gap between South African economics departments and their international counterparts remains large.
2 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the key elements that South African financial services firms consider before making foreign direct investments in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) markets, and found that financial service firms are most strongly influenced by the political and economic stability of the country in question as well as the profitability and long-term sustainability of its specific markets.
Abstract: This research investigates the key elements that South African financial services firms consider before making foreign direct investments in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) markets. The results show that South African financial services firms are most strongly influenced by the political and economic stability of the country in question as well as the profitability and long-term sustainability of its specific markets. The degree of available infrastructure in terms of Information and Communication Technology as well as the existence of credible financial systems was also viewed as highly important considerations affecting investment decisions in SSA. Given the uncertainty and ambiguity of most SSA markets, many South African financial services firms prefer to enter existing markets via a majority stakeholder joint venture with a local partner or via a new investment if the market does not currently exist. The nature of the financial services firm also seems to influence the entry method and once in a new country, most firms seem to prefer a full service presence. Additionally, the key motives cited for expansion northward were to broaden revenue bases and improve profit margins as well as to stay close to local customers.
1 citations