Showing papers by "John M. Luiz published in 2016"

The Political Economy of Middle‐Income Traps: Is South Africa in a Long‐Run Growth Trap? The Path to “Bounded Populism”

Abstract: The current literature on middle-income traps has been dominated by economists who have relied on economic explanations mainly around stages of development and the structural transformation of economies. But there is an equally vigorous literature from political science which speaks to the political economy of transitions. We look at the dynamics of how economic modernisation triggers structural changes with winners and losers and how this is reflected in the polarisation of the political sphere amongst middle-income countries. This paper asks the question of whether South Africa is an archetypical example of a country stuck in a trap and how this has affected the policy choices that it has made. South Africa needs to move up the value chain with a viable value proposition, and this requires a very different policy set and human capital plan.

The co-operative model as a means of stakeholder management: An exploratory qualitative analysis

Abstract: The South African economy has for some time been characterised by high unemployment, income inequality and a skills mismatch, all of which have contributed to conflict between business, government and labour. The co-operative model of stakeholder management is examined as a possible mitigating organisational form in this high-conflict environment. International experience indicates some success with co-operative models but they are not easy to implement effectively and face severe obstacles. Trust and knowledge sharing are critical for enabling a co-operative model of stakeholder management, which requires strong governance and adherence to strict rules. The model must balance the tension between optimisation of governance structures and responsiveness to members' needs. Furthermore, support from social and political institutions is necessary. We find barriers to scalability which manifest in the lack of depth of business skills, negative perception of the co-operative model by external stakeholders, government ambivalence, and a lack of willingness on the part of workers to co-operate for mutual benefit.

Insights of private general practitioners in group practice on the introduction of National Health Insurance in South Africa

Abstract: Background: The South African government intends to contract with ‘accredited provider groups’ for capitated primary care under National Health Insurance (NHI). South African solo general practitioners (GPs) are unhappy with group practice. There is no clarity on the views of GPs in group practice on contracting to the NHI. Objectives: To describe the demographic and practice profile of GPs in group practice in South Africa, and evaluate their views on NHI, compared to solo GPs. Methods: This was a descriptive survey. The population of 8721 private GPs in South Africa with emails available were emailed an online questionnaire. Descriptive statistical analyses and thematic content analysis were conducted. Results: In all, 819 GPs responded (568 solo GPs and 251 GPs in groups). The results are focused on group GPs. GPs in groups have a different demographic practice profile compared to solo GPs. GPs in groups expected R4.86 million ($0.41 million) for a hypothetical NHI proposal of comprehensive primary healthcare (excluding medicines and investigations) to a practice population of 10 000 people. GPs planned a clinical team of 8 to 12 (including nurses) and 4 to 6 administrative staff. GPs in group practices saw three major risks: patient, organisational and government, with three related risk management strategies. Conclusions: GPs can competitively contract with NHI, although there are concerns. NHI contracting should not be limited to groups. All GPs embraced strong teamwork, including using nurses more effectively. This aligns well with the emergence of family medicine in Africa. Keywords: Capitation, human resource, primary health care, family medicine, South Africa, health systems

The strategic location of regional headquarters for multinationals in africa: south africa as a host country

Abstract: Multinational enterprises are aiming to strike a balance between local responsiveness and global integration. The establishment of regional offices allows multinational companies to have a local insight of the market, competition landscape and customer preferences. With such detailed insight, multinational companies are then able to formulate effective and responsive regional strategies. The importance and value of regional headquarters in the academic literature has generally focused on them in industrialized countries. The result is that we do not yet fully possess an overall framework for understanding how value and decisions are devolved, how location decisions are made and how their structures and strategies are evolving to accommodate the growth in emerging markets. The study examines the dominant criteria used by multinational enterprises to choose their locations for regional headquarters in Africa by examining South Africa as a host country for the continent. We find that the main criteria are linked to the advantages of agglomeration and the accompanying economies of scale, and a sound institutional framework which provides a predictable economic climate. In emerging markets which often suffer from institutional voids and thus higher country risk profiles, multinationals choose to locate in the environment which is most familiar to its home rules and use it as a springboard to do business in more ‘hostile’ milieus. The implications for managers looking to do business in Africa is to recognize that this is a continent still consolidating its transition to a sounder institutional environment. Given the unique business environment it will be a difficult region to manage successfully from centralized headquarters and thus using regional headquarters with local knowledge has real advantages.

Corporate social responsibility mandates within German multinational enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract: Multinational enterprises operating in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) exist within an environment marked by complexity, inequality and socio-economic challenges, yet also sustained economic growth. This research focuses on how German multinationals define a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) mandate that is relevant to the local context and responds to the demands of stakeholders in their host countries within SSA. We find that the broad CSR mandate is defined at headquarters but that it contains a discretionary and a non-discretionary component. This is to ensure that, while global standards are adhered to, the local CSR engagements remain relevant and impactful. CSR in SSA tends to focus on activities that aim for long-term development which indicates a high level of local embeddedness and recognition of the meaningful impact that CSR can have in developing countries. We find that, organisationally, subsidiaries can extend their autonomy in pursuing CSR by building capacities that can be leveraged in the corporations globally. The study contributes to our understanding of multinationals operating in emerging markets and adapting to unique environments, and more specifically to CSR engagement in developing countries.