CONCENTRATION, PROFITS AND INVESTMENT: LET’S FOCUS ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE ECONOMY, NOT “CASH HOARDING”
Industrial Development Think Tank: Policy Brief 1[1] Teboho Bosiu, Sumayya Goga, and Simon Roberts Concentration The extreme concentration of ownership and control within the South African economy, with a small number of large firms dominating most sectors remains one of the country’s greatest economic challenges.[2] Debates about whether or not these companies are ‘hoarding cash’ […]
STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION TO GROW HIGH-VALUE EXPORTS AND JOBS: THE CASE OF FRUIT
Industrial Development Think Tank: Policy Brief 2[1] Shingie Chisoro, Reena das Nair, and Maria Nkhonjera Growth in fruit production and exports Structural transformation of the economy to move productive resources to higher value activities cuts across the traditional boundaries of manufacturing, agriculture and services. This is illustrated by the substantial scope for changes in agriculture […]
STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION, COMPETITION AND ECONOMIC POWER
Industrial Development Think Tank: Policy Brief 3[1] Pamela Mondliwa and Simon Roberts South Africa has failed to transform its economy towards the higher productivity and more sophisticated products and services required for economic development. In fact, the structure of the economy in 2018 is much too similar to that inherited in 1994.[2] Recent debates on […]
STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION: THE IMPACT OF MUNICIPAL ELECTRICITY PRICING POLICY ON THE FOUNDRY INDUSTRY
Industrial Development Think Tank: Policy Brief 4[1] Lauralyn Kaziboni, Zavareh Rustomjee and Ian Steuart The bias in electricity prices between and among municipalities and Eskom has emerged as an important impediment to the growth of the metals, machinery and equipment value chain. Excessively priced electricity reduces the competitiveness of local cast products, and encourages local […]
THE AUTO INDUSTRY NEEDS REGIONAL INTEGRATION – CAN IT HAPPEN?
Industrial Development Think Tank: Policy Brief 5[1] Anthony Black, Justin Barnes and Lorenza Monaco The signing in March 2018 of the agreement to establish an African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a significant step along the road to full regional integration in Africa. Achieving this long standing objective is critical for industrialisation in the […]
LOCALISATION AND SUPPLY CHAIN DEVELOPMENT IN THE SA AUTO INDUSTRY
Industrial Development Think Tank: Policy Brief 6[1] Lorenza Monaco, Justin Barnes and Anthony Black The current state of the SA automotive supply chain The production of the thousands of components which make up a vehicle comprise the heart of the automotive industry. All host country governments seek to promote greater levels of localisation of parts […]
STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION IN AGRO-PROCESSING: ADDRESSING CONCENTRATION LEVELS AND GREATER MARKET ACCESS IN DAIRY AND SUGAR VALUE CHAINS [1]
Industrial Development Think Tank: Policy Brief 7[2] Ndiadivha Tempia, Maria Nkhonjera, Reena das Nair and Shingie Chisoro Structural transformation in agro-processing involves developing processing industries to transform raw agricultural inputs into high value-added products (known as sectoral transitioning) and upgrading of technology and productivity within agro-processing (sectoral deepening).[3] Developments in agro-processing industries and their dynamic […]
UPSTREAM STRATEGIES AND SUPPORT IN THE METALS AND MACHINERY VALUE CHAIN: INDUSTRIAL POLICY LESSONS[1]
Industrial Development Think Tank: Policy Briefing Paper 8[2] Zavareh Rustomjee and Lauralyn Kaziboni The competitiveness of the upstream sector[3] in the metals and machinery value chain has been underpinned by large scale investment in the 1990s to upgrade plant and equipment, supported by investment incentives and Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) investments. However, this advantage has […]
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION AND JOB CREATION IN SOUTH AFRICA: TOWARDS A SMART, OPEN ECONOMY FOR ALL[1]
Industrial Development Think Tank (IDTT) Policy Brief 9 Countries develop by changing the structure of the economy to move from sectors of low to high productivity and complexity, and within sectors through upgrading to higher value-added activities. This is a process of structural transformation. South Africa has, however, not made significant progress in transforming its […]
REWRITING THE RULES GOVERNING THE SOUTH AFRICAN ECONOMY: A NEW POLITICAL SETTLEMENT FOR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT[1]
Industrial Development Think Tank: Policy Brief 10[2] Pamela Mondliwa and Simon Roberts The South African economy has prematurely de-industrialised with low investment and a shrinking manufacturing sector in relative terms. This is especially so in more sophisticated activities, as reflected in the undiversified export basket.[3] The economy is also characterised by high levels of concentration […]
STUCK IN THE MIDDLE: SOUTH AFRICA IN THE NEW GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE
Industrial Development Think Tank: Policy Brief 11[1] Antonio Andreoni and Fiona Tregenna Over the past two decades, the world economy has undergone profound structural transformations. Despite a number of catching-up economies having registered fast economic growth during this period, world industrial production has remained highly concentrated. Today, fewer than twenty countries control 80% of the […]
INDUSTRIAL POLICIES FOR MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES
Julius Nyamwena and Pamela Mondliwa [1] Industrial Development Think Tank[2] On 1st July 2020, the Protection of Personal Information Act (“POPIA”) came into effect after being introduced in 2014. POPIA positions South Africa in the mainstream of relatively well-developed data protection laws, regulating the collection, processing, and sharing of personal information. These controls over the […]
MACHINERY, EQUIPMENT AND ELECTRONIC CONTROL SYSTEMS: LEADING REINDUSTRIALISATION IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
Digital Industrial Policy Brief 1 Lauralyn Kaziboni,[1] Maria Nkhonjera,[2] Simon Roberts[3] Introduction Integrated machinery, equipment and electronic control systems are key industries for digitalisation and related technology changes, and combine a range of sophisticated and complex technologies. South Africa’s machinery and equipment sector has a developed industrial base and encompasses the manufacture of machinery such […]
REPOSITIONING THE FUTURE OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
Digital Industrial Policy Brief 2 Justin Barnes[1] Introduction The automotive industry’s technology direction is the focus of huge attention and substantial hype, much of which has been created by recent government announcements denouncing the future of the internal combustion engine (ICE), and the banning of such vehicles within governed time frames: The United Kingdom[2] and […]
TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS AND THE ‘INDUSTRIALISTION OF FRESHNESS’ IN FRESH FRUIT SUPPLY
Digital Industrial Policy Brief 3 SHINGIE CHISORO DUBE[1] AND REENA DAS NAIR [2] INTRODUCTION Strong performance of the South African fruit industry coupled with strong growth in global demand has meant the industry is the central focus for agriculture-led growth. This growth is dependent on applying major advances in technology to underpin sustainable growth of […]
ARE WE DOING ENOUGH TO SUPPORT SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED FOOD PROCESSORS AND ALTERNATIVE ROUTES TO MARKET DURING AND AFTER COVID-19?
Reena das Nair Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis in South Africa, much attention has been given to the role of formal supermarket chains in ensuring that consumers have food security and producers of essential food continue to access supermarket shelves as a key route to market. On 29 March, we woke up to […]