Browsing by Author "Kaplan, David"
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- ItemOpen AccessAgricultural crisis and rural organisation in the Cape : 1929-1933(1985) Hofmeyr, William Andrew; Kaplan, DavidThis thesis explores the relationship between rural struggles and popular organisation in the Cape between 1928 and 1933. It focuses on the attempts by militants in the ANC(Western Province) and later the Independent ANC to organise in the rural areas during a period of crisis for agriculture. In the first chapter the history and trends in the nationalist movement before 1930 is discussed. It is argued that the conservative petty bourgeoisie dominated the organisation for much of the time, but that more militant positions were adopted on a few rare occasions. The second chapter endeavours to show that the transition to capitalist agriculture had been completed in the Western Cape. ·It then examines the specificity of the crisis in agriculture during the Depression: a crisis which was manifested in the form of an acute labour shortage on the farms, combined with unemployment in the towns. This, it is argued, provided a fertile ground for organisation The third chapter examines the rural struggles in the Western Cape. It analyses the alliance in the ANC(WP) between the moderate Garveyists and the militants linked to the Communist Party, and the reasons for the subsequent breakdown of this alliance. It discusses both the success of the organisation in coping with violent repression, and its failure to cope with the state's more subtle strategies. The militants were eventually expelled from the ANC. Most rural branches then broke away to form the Independent ANC. Chapter 4 discusses the formation of the IANC and raises some questions about the nature of its political programme. It then proceeds to focus on organisation in the Southern Cape where all the branches had joined the IANC. The fifth chapter discusses the organisation in the Midlands area of the Eastern Cape. It attempts to explain the lack of success in Graaff-Reinett. It then proceeds to examine the organisation in Middelburg where is appears that it had learnt to cope with at least some of the problems experienced in the Western Cape. The sixth chapter analyses in some detail the issues that were taken up by the IANC in the Midlands, and how these were reflected in its discourse. Among the issues raised are unemployment, resistance to passes and local control measures, the problem of women's participation and the struggle that was waged against the conservative petty bourgeoisie in the ANC. The seventh chapter first discusses organisation in Cradock. It then proceeds to describe how the struggle in the Midlands built up to a climax at the end of 1931, until massive repression smashed the organisation. Thereafter the organisation continued only at a low level. The conclusion attempts to draw together some of the themes raised above. First, it discusses the relationship between the petty bourgeoisie and the militants. Second, it argues that the organisation's approach was essentially "agitational", and that this accounts partly for its effectiveness, as well as many of its weaknesses. Lastly an attempt is made to evaluate the significance of the organisation.
- ItemOpen AccessAssessing the South African Brain Drain, a Statistical Comparison(2000-07) Meyer, Jean-Baptiste; Brown, Mercy; Kaplan, DavidFor several decades the analysis of the so-called brain drain has been hampered by measurement problems. It is now recognised that the official figures significantly underestimate the extent of the brain drain phenomenon and its increase since the political changes in the mid-1990's. This paper, using data from various reliable sources, provides new statistical evidence on the size of the brain drain from South Africa.
- ItemOpen AccessAutomotive policy and the restructuring of the south african industry, 1990 - 2005.(2007) Black, Anthony; Kaplan, DavidSince 1990 the South African automotive industry has been through the most dramatic phase of its long history as reduced protection has led to much greater international integration. This thesis analyses the restructuring of the sector in response to these developments. The first major section provides a detailed assessment of the international environment and its impact on the prospects for growth of the automotive industry in developing countries and South Africa in particular. In many developing countries, the sector has been subject to extensive state support and intervention. While traditional production locations in advanced countries remain dominant, there has been a significant shift of production to developing countries. This expansion has, however, been focused on a relatively small number of locations. For countries which do not have very large existing or potential domestic markets, policy needs to define an 'automotive space' and provide some protection to anchor the domestic industry if local capacity is to be retained and developed. In South Africa, a gradual but sustained period of tariff liberalisation has been coupled with import-export complementation measures aimed at increasing exports and achieving a higher degree of specialisation. With its unfavourable geographical location and history of heavy protection, the prognosis for the South African industry in the early 1990s was not good. To date the costs of liberalisation have been quite low. The export response to the realignment of the incentive structure has been strong and the industry has become much more efficient and competitive. However, other objectives have not been achieved. Recently, the share of vehicle imports has grown sharply. Local content levels remain low partly because of lower protection. There have also been serious distortions. The system of export credits used to offset import duties has led to rapid expansion of 'peripheral' component exports, driven more by the objective of rebating import duties than any real economic justification. Investment levels have been modest compared to the investments flowing into some of the world's more dynamic emerging automotive industries. Historically, the development of small-scale, multi-model plants has been the central structural problem in the South African automotive industry. It exacerbated the lack of competitiveness associated with high levels of protection and limited the prospects for expanding local content. One of the key objectives of policy has been to encourage industry rationalisation. But while a theoretical case for industrial policies can easily be made, implementation is much more complex. There has been progress in achieving higher model volumes, but it has not been sufficient to justify investments in high levels of local content. A number of case studies of firm level restructuring were conducted. These illustrate that the major reason for the lack of competitiveness in the initial stages was not necessarily inefficiency or a lack of dynamism on the part of firms but rather an inefficient industry structure consisting of too many low volume producers. Component firms have in fact proved quite dynamic in adapting to this environment. Restructuring has taken a number of forms and firms have proved remarkably resourceful. But internal or plant level changes, while necessary have seldom proved sufficient. In many cases firms have been forced to seek out a foreign partner. Foreign ownership or control in turn has had a number of effects on firm performance and prospects in areas such as exports, R&D and the use of domestic suppliers. The industry has made substantial progress towards developing a more efficient and competitive structure. But difficulties remain as it attempts to attract investment in an increasingly competitive international environment. The scale of domestic production is still not sufficient to encourage high levels of localisation of components. That in turn means that assembly sector costs remain high because of the logistics costs associated with high import levels. The challenge for policy currently is to encourage investment in high volume, sustainable automotive production while at the same time gradually moving to more neutral and lower levels of support.
- ItemOpen AccessBantustan industrialization with specific reference to the Ciskei, 1973-1981(1984) Hirsch, Alan; Kaplan, DavidThe study of the development of industry in the bantustans has tended to follow one of two lines, regardless of the methodological persuasion of the writer. The subject is either approached through the analytical prism of a study of industrial decentralisation policy in South Africa or it is mentioned, usually too briefly, in studies of the development of bantustan policy, or of a particular bantustan. For different reasons both roads usually fail to provide a detailed or accurate analysis of the subject. The central problem of the first approach, or, at least of writers who have travelled it thusfar, is that it fails to distinguish, sufficiently, bantustan industrialisation from industrial decentralisation as a general programme. This problem is discussed in some detail in Chapter two. The latter approach, along the path of bantustan analysis, generally fails to analyse bantustan industrialisation in any depth and fails to situate it and thus analyse it as a programme.
- ItemRestrictedCommodities and Linkages: Industrialisation in Sub Saharan Africa(2011) Morris, Mike; Kaplinsky, Raphael; Kaplan, DavidIn a complementary Discussion Paper (MMCP DP 12 2011) we set out the reasons why we believe that there is extensive scope for linkage development into and out of SSA?s commodities sectors. In this Discussion Paper, we present the findings of our detailed empirical enquiry into the determinants of the breadth and depth of linkages in eight SSA countries (Angola, Botswana, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa Tanzania, and Zambia) and six sectors (copper, diamonds, gold, oil and gas, mining services and timber). We conclude from this detailed research that the extent of linkages varies as a consequence of four factors which intrinsically affect their progress the passage of time, the complexity of the sector and the level of capabilities in the domestic economy. However, beyond this we identify three sets of related factors which determined the nature and pace of linkage development. The first is the structure of ownership, both in lead commodity producing firms and in their suppliers and domestic customers. The second is the nature and quality of both hard infrastructure (for example, roads and ports) and soft infrastructure (for example, the efficiency of customs clearance). The third is the availability of skills and the structure and orientation of the National System of Innovation in the domestic economy. The fourth, and overwhelmingly important contextual factor is policy. This reflects policy towards the commodity sector itself, and policy which affects the three contextual drivers, namely ownership, infrastructure and capabilities. As a result of this comparative analysis we provided an explanation of why linkage development was progressive in some economies (such as Botswana) and regressive in others (such as Tanzania). This cluster of factors also explains why the breadth and depth of linkages is relative advanced in some countries (such as South Africa), and at a very nascent stage in other countries (such as Angola).
- ItemRestrictedCommodities and Linkages: Meeting the Policy Challenge(2011) Morris, Mike; Kaplinsky, Raphael; Kaplan, DavidThe results of detailed empirical enquiry into the nature and determinants of the breadth and depth of linkages in and out of the commodities sector in eight SSA countries (Angola, Botswana, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa Tanzania, and Zambia) and six sectors (copper, diamonds, gold, oil and gas, mining services and timber) has shown extensive scope for industrial development (MMCP DP 13, 2011). A primary conclusion of this research was that policy in both the private and public realm was a prime factor holding back the development of linkages. Addressing this problem requires the closing of three sets of misalignments between policy and practice within the corporate sector, within the public sector, and between the public sector and other stakeholders involved in linkage development. In addition, specific policies need to be developed, monitored and implemented in relation to the three contextual drivers of linkages from the commodity sector skills and capabilities, infrastructure and policies towards ownership.
- ItemOpen AccessCryptonetworks - The incentive-based Economics of Blockchain(2021) Hennessy, Seamus; Kaplan, David; Morris, MichaelBlockchain technology has the novel ability to ‘create' trust in a decentralised environment. With this technology, third-parties and middlemen are no longer necessary to enforce transactions. Instead, blockchain uses decentralised consensus protocols and embedded logic to enforce contracts. The applications of blockchain are vast and include cryptonetworks, the culmination of blockchain and crypto tokens. Cryptonetworks can have an impact on the business models of firms, both in terms of cost structure and value creation. By blending the functionality of centralised platforms with the community-orientated nature of the original open protocols of the internet, cryptonetworks enable value creation to be correctly assigned to the actual content creators through tokens. The work of Ronald Coase illustrated the need for firms to overcome the transaction costs of operating within the market. Cryptonetworks, however, provide an alternative ‘middle ground' option to the firm and the market, allowing both to benefit from reduced transaction costs and incentive maximisation of the market. In addition, the implementation of economics in today's cryptonetworks, often referred to as ‘cryptoeconomics', remains conventional and conservative, placing a limit on the potential of cryptonetworks. By revaluating and reconstructing today's value measurement criteria, cryptonetworks have the potential to move beyond a single ‘Hayekian price' and instead incorporate multiple other indexes that better measure and capture value creation as it pertains to wider social issues of production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Finally, this thesis incorporates a case study on the MakerDAO stablecoin as a practical illustration of a cryptonetwork.
- ItemOpen AccessAn economic and social history of the Herero of Namibia, 1915-1946(1989) Werner, Wolfgang; Kaplan, David; Phimister, Ian R
- ItemOpen AccessA history of garment and tailoring workers in Cape Town, 1900-1939.(1984) Nicol, Martin; Phimister, IR; Kaplan, DavidThe large scale production of clothing started relatively late in South Africa because of the inability of local manufacturers to compete with cheap imports. The industry's tendency to draw the most exploitable workers into a system of "sweated labour" emerged clearly during World War I, when military uniforms were produced in Cape Town under appalling conditions. But the clothing industry did not become firmly established until after 1925 when a protective tariff was imposed on clothing imports. Industrial laws then assisted to ensure that South African clothing production was based on factories not outwork and that the extremes of sweating were prevented from establishing a hold on the trade. From 1925 to 1939 the Cape Town clothing industry grew impressively. The foundations were laid for the rapid expansion of the industry after 1939 and for the emergence of the clothing industry as the leading employer of labour in Cape Town and of the Western Cape as the leading centre of clothing manufacturing in South Africa. Garment workers in Cape Town have a history starkly different from that of garment workers in the Transvaal. While the latter were strongly organized into a successful, militant union (under the leadership of E.S. Sachs) and were a leading force in economic and political battles in the Transvaal, the former were press-ganged into membership of an employer-sympathetic union created by Robert Stuart of the Cape Federation of Labour Unions. While the Garment Workers' Union of the Cape Peninsula maintained a strict non-racialism at all times, the Transvaal union excluded African workers and organized coloured workers into a separate branch. While very few Cape garment workers were ever involved in strikes and the Cape Union never once called a strike, the Transvaal garment workers participated in two union-called general strikes and in over one hundred more limited strike actions. Cape garment workers' wages were between ten and forty per cent below those in the Transvaal. The distinctiveness of the Cape garment workers' history derives from the peculiarities of the class struggle in Cape Town. The slow growth of the city over 250 years; its economic base in commerce rather than in the exploitation of natural resources; the relative backwardness of Cape Town capitalism - with a dominant merchant class challenging the development of precarious manufacturing enterprises which operated in a highly competitive environment and remained almost entirely confined to consumer goods production; and the absence of primary racial division in the working class, all contributed to a process of class struggle that was more muted than that in the North. Cape Town was infertile ground for the growth of an organized working class movement. Apart from sporadic but intense worker action briefly after World War I, few workers were drawn into either trade union or political organization. On the other hand, Cape manufacturers, despite their differences, were united in the Cape Chamber of Industries (by W.J. Laite) to promote protection for their industries and to build a cornmon front to resist labour initiatives and government interference.
- ItemOpen AccessA history of the Food and Canning Workers Union, 1941-1975(1986) Goode, Richard; Hirsch, Alan; Kaplan, DavidCanning workers were organised into the Food and Canning workers Union in large numbers when the union grew along with the growth of the South African canning industry, stimulated by the demand for canned goods during World War II. Formed in 1941, by Ray Alexander, a member of the Communist Party, the union spread into the small canning towns to become established with a base in the fruit canning districts of the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and in the West coast fish canning industry. As a consequence of developing within a geographically dispersed and seasonal industry, the union assumed a particular organisational form, promoting the autonomy of branches and seasonal fluctuations in union strength. The Food and Canning Workers Union was a non-racial and militant union that brought tremendous improvements in wages, working and living conditions to the workers who joined its ranks and participated in the struggles it led. The union also played a major role in the affairs of the labour movement and participated in political campaigns that occurred in the 1940s and 1950s. Through a relationship to the Communist Party in the 1940s, to the South African Congress of Trade Unions during the mid-1950s to early 1960s, the Food and Canning Workers Union reveals an approach to politics that gave priority to the economic position of its members and also sought to contribute to broader political campaigns. This dissertation provides a critical history of the union from its inception in 1941 to 1975. The primary material that it is based upon are the records of the Food and Canning Workers Union and oral interviews.
- ItemRestricted“One Thing Leads to Another” – Commodities, Linkages and Industrial Development: A Conceptual Overview(2011) Morris, Mike; Kaplinsky, Raphael; Kaplan, DavidAfrican commodity exporting economies have benefitted greatly from the commodities boom of the past decade. This raises the possibility of commodity based industrialization path for these economies. However the conventional wisdom warns of the great dangers of relying on resource rents, amongst which are the fact that the capital intensive nature of many commodities sectors limits employment and the distribution of these rents. The paper challenges this pessimistic „resource curse? argument and sets out the conceptual reasons arguing that the strengthening of linkages to the commodities sector is an important avenue for industrial development. It sets out a general model of linkages between industry and services and the commodities sector which distinguishes between win-win and win-lose outcomes. The paper concludes with a brief review of the reasons why Governments might wish to intervene to support linkages between the commodities and the industrial and service sectors.
- ItemOpen AccessReview of the performance of Zambia's national system of innovation for the period 2001 to 2010(2018) Zulu, Mercy; Kaplan, DavidIt is widely agreed globally that innovation, knowledge and learning is a vital part of economic development. It creates and promotes competitiveness at the firm level, national and regional levels. Furthermore, innovation processes are dependent on relationships and the interaction of various actors thus, it is necessary for policy makers to strengthen the innovative environment so that collaboration is encouraged and facilitated. However, in order to develop relevant policies, the innovation system in question needs to be reviewed; in this case, Zambia's national system of innovation (NSI). Science, technology and innovation (STI) in Zambia is described as relatively underdeveloped. The country gained independence in 1964 and only after 32 years of independence (1996) did it draft its first STI policy document. Sound economic policy accompanied by efficient institutions plays a key role in shaping a country's economic development. Therefore, it is believed that a timely national STI policy and mobilization of supporting institutions in Zambia could have helped the country exploit its abundant natural resources, to drive sustainable economic development. This study, which is the first of its kind, provides a review of the performance of Zambia's NSI during the period 2001 to 2010. The study starts by examining comprehensive literature on STI and NSI, particularly in relation to developing countries such as Zambia. Thereafter, key concepts from the literature are applied to the Zambian case to formulate a framework for analyzing the country's NSI. The framework involved organizing the NSI into three hierarchal levels namely; micro, meso and macro. Under these levels, system functions were selected namely; knowledge development at the micro level, business, industrial and entrepreneur activities at the meso level and resource mobilization at the macro level. Thereafter, indicators were selected to measure the performance of each system function. Subsequently, trend analysis was conducted on the set of indicators. The results of the analysis suggest that during the period 2001 to 2010, there has been significant increase in innovation input (government funding of R&D activities) and a significant growth in output (scientific research publications) at the micro level. The rise in the ratio of input to output suggests a level of efficiency in knowledge development, because the output indicator was increasing more rapidly than the increases in the input indicator. On the contrary results at the meso level, particularly with regards to exports of goods and services, revealed comparative advantage of merchandise exports, manufactured exports and high-technology exports, suggest that knowledge and innovation is not being exploited efficiently and effectively for commercial purposes. These results imply that there are some significant constraints and factors in scarce supply. In addition, the policy environment may not be favourable. Finally despite significant growth in government funding at the macro level, the results of this study show that it is still limited. The National Science and Technology Policy initially proposed that government allocates 3% of GDP annually as funding for science, technology and innovation activities. However, this has not been the case. The study indicates that an average of only 0.04% was annually allocated during the period under analysis.
- ItemOpen AccessShaky structures on solid foundation : the impact of low-income state-subsidised housing on the realisation of the right to adequate housing in post-apartheid South Africa(2016) Rafferty, Benjamin; Kaplan, DavidThis dissertation examines the impact of state-subsidised housing on the realisation of the right to adequate housing in South Africa. The incremental housing policy adopted in 1994 has its roots in the work of the Urban Foundation and others, who significantly shaped the discussions in the National Housing Forum, where South Africa's first post-apartheid housing policy was formulated. As a result low-income housing policy is centred on the use of capital subsidies allocated towards homeownership. In 1996 the state promulgated the Constitution obligating government to ensure that, inter alia, 'everyone has the right of access to adequate housing'. 'Adequate housing', as per the United Nations Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, comprises of six core elements: accessibility, affordability, location, availability of services, habitability and security of tenure; which have all been affected in various ways by government's legislative and policy interventions. The delivery of state-subsidised housing has been impressive - with nearly three million completed since 1994. However, there have been significant problems. This paper emphasises four main issues: the poor quality houses that have required rectification and/or rebuilding; an overemphasis on homeownership, above rental tenure; a lack of effective transfer of title deeds; and the informal sale of state-subsidised houses. All of which have negatively impacted on progress towards full realisation of the right of access to adequate housing.
- ItemRestrictedSouth African mining equipment and related services: Growth, constraints and policy(2011) Kaplan, DavidSouth Africa has the largest, most diversified and longest established mining sector in Africa. South Africa has developed considerable expertise in mining and mining related supply industries and it has a number of firms located at the global technological frontier. This report provides measures of South Africa’s success in export markets and of the technological capacities that underpin that success. Although South Africa currently has a significant cluster of firms in mining equipment and related services which are at the global technological frontier, its competitive position is being undermined both as a site for production and for research and development. The report analyses the factors undermining South Africa’s competitive position, as well as examining the policy failures in meeting these challenges.
- ItemOpen AccessThe South African textile industry : opportunities and constraints with particular reference to environmental issues and eco-labelling(2001) Naumann, Eckart; Kaplan, DavidThe aim of this thesis is to analyse and highlight the key issues facing the South African textile industry as it attempts to re-align itself, from an industry that operated in a highly protected manufacturing and policy environment, to an industry confronted with globalisation, increased competition, improved foreign market access and important environmental issues. Critical challenges facing the South African textile industry, and that in many other developing and developed countries, include the increased need for international competitiveness, the integration of environmental issues with trade aspects, and the potential impact that non-tariff trade barriers may have on the textile production pipeline. Trade patterns and value chains in the 21 st century will not necessarily resemble those of the past century. Tariff barriers are increasingly giving way to technical or non-tariff barriers, and there is a growing emphasis on environmentally preferable production methods, especially in the developed world. This has important consequences for developing countries like South Africa, and presents specific challenges and opportunities.
- ItemOpen AccessThe State of Science and Technology in South Africa: New Priorities, New Policies(1995-06) Kaplan, DavidThis paper surveys the new government's inheritance with respect to science and technology (S&T). Based on an assessment of that inheritance, the author defines the likely policy objectives of the new government and outlines how goverment will seek to restructure the S&T system to meet the new policy objectives.
- ItemOpen AccessThe Contribution of Information and Communication Technology to the wellbeing of the urban poor in South Africa(2018) Allen, Michaella; Gillwald, Alison; Kaplan, DavidWithin the context of an increasingly pervasive digital society, this study seeks to understand the extent to which Internet-enabled mobile phones contribute towards the social and economic inclusion or exclusion of the urban poor in South Africa. This stems from the growing recognition that although mobile phones may be tools for opportunity and development, access to these devices may not be sufficient to ensure that they are used optimally for development. Stubbornly high mobile broadband prices and ineffectual policy reform in South Africa alternatively risk not only inhibiting meaningful ICT usage by the poor, but also potentially exacerbating their current economic marginalisation through digital exclusion. To analyse the relationship between mobile phone usage and urban poor development, Roxana Barrantes’ demand-focused Digital Poverty Framework is quantitatively applied to nationally representative data from the 2017 “Beyond Access” Research ICT Africa Household and Individual ICT access/usage survey. Results indicate that only percent 12 percent of urban individuals at the Bottom of the Economic Pyramid (BoP) are capable of actively using their Internet-enabled mobile phones on a daily basis in meaningful ways. Although all Internetenabled mobile phone users at the urban BoP are capable of using their devices to strengthen their economic, social and human capabilities; optimal usage is only predicted with a 5 percent probability in terms of both daily use and quality of opportunities generated for improved wellbeing. Accounting for the confounding presence of students, a Generalised Ordered Logit regression identifies digital literacy and mobile broadband affordability as primary barriers to the optimisation of Internet-enabled mobile phone use. In spite of ongoing regulatory pressure on operators to reduce prices, these findings highlights the current inefficacy of these efforts to promote greater digital inclusion among the mobile-data dependent urban BoP. This failure suggests a critical need for State policies to improve the viability of complementary and free aggregated access to mobile broadband alternatives, such as Free Public Wi-Fi, that can optimise the developmental potential of mobile phones for the urban poor. Such policies that additionally address digital skills needs of the poor are even better suited to equip the State to tackle key barriers of digital literacy and awareness as arguably more intractable problems to promoting effective ICT use and digital equality.