- Title
- Trading with selected SADC countries and economic growth in South Africa
- Creator
- Malimba, Nwabisa
- Subject
- Southern African Development Community
- Subject
- Economic development -- South Africa South Africa -- Economic conditions -- 1991 Economic development -- Africa, Southern
- Date Issued
- 2018
- Date
- 2018
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MCom
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/31962
- Identifier
- vital:31867
- Description
- This study empirically evaluates the impact of trading with SADC countries on the economic growth of South Africa (2010 -2016). The study used Fixed Effects Model to determine the relationship between economic growth of South Africa and the selected explanatory variables. The study made use of annual panel data from World Bank, Focus Economics and Trading economics. The relationship between South Africa’s economic growth and its determinants was examined using the procedure suggested in the literature by William (2017). Various tests were conducted to ensure that the relevant model is used and to produce reliable results. The results of a fixed effects model revealed that exports, imports and trade openness are statistically significant for South African economic growth. However, the p-values indicated that trade openness is the most statistically significant variable in explaining the variation in South African economic growth better than other explanatory variables confirm. Other variables that explained the fitness of the model for the data indicated that the model was a good fit. The implication of the results obtained from Fixed Effects model is that there was little trade between South Africa and selected SADC countries during the period under review. Trading with SADC countries has a negative effect on South African economy mainly because there was a decrease in exports to SADC over the past six years and that SADC countries still need to be more open to trade. Less intensive trading between SADC countries could be attributed to shortage of capital, infrastructure and skilled labour among SADC countries. The main trading partners of South Africa are countries that are characterised by being capital intensive and have highly skilled labour. In the light of the challenges that negatively affects trade in the SADC region, the study suggests that SADC should spell out the criteria that countries need to meet before they can become members of the union. These should be non-negotiable and ensure that member states harmonise their policies with those of SADC. The study also suggests that SADC countries should be more open to trade as it has been empirically proven that trade openness has a positive relationship with economic growth. Empirical evidence presents that countries with open, large and more developed neighbouring economies grow faster than those with closed, smaller, and less developed neighbouring economies. Trade should be intensified because there are potential gains to trading with SADC. It is further suggested that more focus should be given on work related training to improve the skills of our labour force. These suggestions are based on the belief that African countries have the ability to rescue themselves out of the vicious cycle of poverty.
- Format
- x, 93 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Business and Economics Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | NWABISA MALIMBA.pdf | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |