South African Journal of Economics 

About: South African Journal of Economics is an academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Monetary policy & Inflation. It has an ISSN identifier of 0038-2280. Over the lifetime, 2038 publications have been published receiving 24598 citations. The journal is also known as: Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir ekonomie & SAJE.

The Macro Implications of HIV/AIDS in South Africa: A Preliminary Assessment

Abstract: South Africa now stands at the brink of a full-blown AIDS crisis. The key question now is to how to deal with the impending crisis. The epidemic has moved beyond its earlier status as a health issue to become a development issue, with social, political, and economic dimensions. This paper focuses on the economic aspects. While the research and policy analysis agenda is large, the authors' objectives in this paper are more modest: they undertake a preliminary analysis of the macroeconomic effects of the AIDS epidemic for South Africa using an economy-wide modeling framework. The outline of the paper is as follows: First, the authors review the major channels through which the HIV/AIDS epidmeic affects economic activity. Next, they describe the analytic approach employed in this paper, which involves constructing a disaggregated model of the South African economy that embodies the important AIDS-economy linkages identified above. Finally, they use the model to generate alternative medium-term scenarios to simulate the quantitative impact of these AIDS-related effects on macroeconomic performance.

The continued feminisation of the labour force in south africa

Abstract: The post-apartheid period 1995 to 1999 has witnessed a continued feminisation of the labour force. In 1995, 38 percent of all females between the ages of 15 and 65 were either working or actively looking for work in South Africa; by 1999, this had increased to 47 percent. This study describes changes in female labour supply and employment using data from the 1995 and 1999 October Household Surveys, paying close attention to the quality of the data upon which the empirical investigation is based. We find that the continued feminisation of the labour force is associated particularly with an increase in female unemployment, and where employment has grown, this has been mostly in self-employment in the informal sector. These findings may reflect an increasing number of women who are “pushed” into the labour market, one possible explanation for which is the erosion in women’s access to traditional forms of (male) income support.

Mega-Sporting Events in Developing Nations: Playing the Way to Prosperity?

Abstract: Supporters of mega-sporting events such as the World Cup and Olympics claim that these events attract hoards of wealthy visitors and lead to lasting economic benefits for the host regions. Developing countries have become increasingly vocal in demanding a share of the economic benefits of these international games. The specialized infrastructure and operating expenses required to host these events, however, can be substantial. Independent researchers have found that boosters’ projections of the economic impact of sporting events exaggerate the true economic impact of these competitions, and these events are an even worse investment for developing countries than for industrialized nations.(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

The changing efficiency of african stock markets

Abstract: This paper classifies formal African stock markets into four categories and discuses the principal characteristics of the seven markets covered in this study: South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Mauritius and Kenya. Using a GARCH approach with time-varying parameters, a test of evolving efficiency (TEE) is implemented for periods starting in the early 1990s and ending in June 2001. This test detects changes in weak form efficiency through time. The TEE finds that the Johannesburg stock market is weak form efficient throughout the period, and three stock markets become weak form efficient towards the end of the period: Egypt and Morocco from 1999 and Nigeria from early 2001. These contrast with the Kenya and Zimbabwe stock markets which show no tendency towards weak form efficiency and the Mauritius market which displays a slow tendency to eliminate inefficiency. The paper relates weak form efficiency to stock market turnover, capitalisation and institutional characteristics of markets. JEL Classification: G14, G15, O16 Keywords: African Stock Markets, efficiency, GARCH WITH THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTION of the JSE Securities Exchange (JSE), there have been relatively few studies of the weak form efficiency of African stock markets. While the evidence for the JSE is mixed, the few studies that have been carried out for other markets find, not surprisingly, that most are inefficient (in a financial sense, meaning that stock prices do not reflect all available information, and that stocks are not therefore being appropriately priced at their equilibrium values). A variety of empirical tests can be used to assess market efficiency. Thompson and Ward (1995) reviewed a wide range of literature covering empirical tests of the efficiency of the JSE and noted that, with different methodologies for testing efficiency giving different results, no clear conclusion is possible. Jefferis and Okeahalam (1999a) applied unit root tests to stock price indices to assess the efficiency of the stock markets in South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe over the period 1989-96, and find that the South African and Zimbabwean markets were efficient during this period, although Botswana was not, at least during the early part of the period. However the unit root test of market efficiency is not a powerful one, and subsequent analysis using different tests provided contrasting results. Jefferis and Okeahalam (1999b) used an event study of the same three markets to test the response of individual stock prices to information announcements, by evaluating the speed and efficiency with which information is incorporated into market prices. They found that the Botswana and Zimbabwe markets are inefficient, while the JSE is weak form efficient. This corresponds with the findings of Smith et al (2002), who tested whether eight African stock markets follow a random walk using multiple variance ratio tests. Of the eight markets (South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Botswana and

An analysis of economic infrastructure investment in south africa

Abstract: This paper analyses long-term trends in the development of South Africa's economic infrastructure and discusses their relationship with the country's long-term economic growth. A database covering national accounts data, railways, roads, ports, air travel, phone lines and electricity was established for this purpose, and may facilitate further quantitative research. PSS (Pesaran, Shin and Smith, 1996, 2001) F-tests are used to identify directions of association between economic infrastructure and economic growth. These indicate long-run forcing relationships from public-sector economic infrastructure investment and fixed capital stock to gross domestic product (GDP), from roads to GDP, and from GDP to a range of other types of infrastructure. There is also evidence of potential simultaneity between specific types of infrastructure and GDP. The evidence suggests three main findings. Firstly, the relationship between economic infrastructure and economic growth appears to run in both directions. Inadequate investment in infrastructure could create bottlenecks, and opportunities for promoting economic growth could be missed. Secondly, South Africa's stock of economic infrastructure has developed in phases. Policymakers should focus on choosing or encouraging the right type of infrastructure at the right time. Thirdly, the need for investment in economic infrastructure never goes away. The maintenance and expansion of infrastructure are important dimensions of supporting economic activity in a growing economy, provided that individual projects are chosen on the basis of appropriate cost-benefit analyses. JEL: H54, L91, L92, L93, L94, L96, L98, N47, N77, E62