Browsing by Author "Thiam, DjibyThiam"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Open Access
    An analysis into the relationship between tourism development and economic growth in South Africa amid the COVID-19 pandemic
    (2024) Kanyenze, Ropafadzo; Thiam, DjibyThiam
    The introduction of the COVID-19 and the start of the global pandemic dealt a blow to the global economy and resulted in the death of millions across the globe. The rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus not only put a severe strain on the healthcare sector but also on the global economy. The introduction of the pandemic saw the global economy experience a combination of both demand and supply shocks. The spread of COVID-19 and the measures put in place to contain it directly impacted production and disrupted global value chains. The pandemic additionally caused a reduction in global demand. With many economies across the globe experiencing contractions and economic growth experiencing a slowdown during the time, many governments sought the means to alleviate the effects of the pandemic while also sparking economic growth. This paper argues that the tourism sector potentially holds the key to igniting economic growth and uses South Africa as a case study to do so. It has previously been argued that the tourism industry is one that holds the potential to be a great contributor to economic growth and this has been somewhat supported within the literature. Following the hypothesis that tourism can be a great contributor to economic growth, this paper assesses how policies aimed at improving South Africa's Tourism industry amid the pandemic affects economic growth. The results of this study reveal that the policies associated with the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan manage to generate positive economic benefits within the tourism sector which then generated positive spillover effects throughout the economy as a whole, with output from each sector increasing as well as employment increasing. The implementation of each of the three policies namely, Corporate Support, Business Enablement and Tourist Experience resulted in a positive direct impact, indirect impact, and induced effects on the tourism industry and the economy as a whole. Moreover, each of the three policies under the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan managed to stimulate demand for commodities throughout the economy while creating jobs and resulted in increased output levels in the tourism sector and the economy. However, the percentage in output was modest. Despite the modest changes in output, many small to medium enterprises within the tourism sector and the economy at large greatly benefitted from the introduction of each policy.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Open Access
    Analysis of Household Energy Poverty on Human Development Outcomes in South Africa, Using the National Income Dynamics Survey (NIDS)
    (2023) Gebers, Sophie; Thiam, DjibyThiam
    Despite progress in post-Apartheid South Africa's electrification rates, especially in the country's rural areas, widespread energy poverty persists at the household level. To understand the dynamics of energy poverty at the micro-level, this dissertation examines how two different measures of energy poverty – namely, the Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index (MEPI) and the Ten-Percent Threshold measure (TPT) – affect human development outcomes in the domains of health, labour market outcomes and education-related outcomes. The MEPI is constructed using a range of dimensions relating to access to modern energy services captured in a nationally representative panel dataset, the National Income Dynamics Survey (NIDS). I also construct the TPT using variables pertaining to household energy expenditure and income. Although there were improvements from 2008 to 2017, it was found that multi- dimensional energy poverty is still prevalent in South African households, especially in rural and low-income households. The dissertation then turns to regression methods to establish whether there is an effect between energy poverty and human outcome indicators. I run both OLS and FE estimation strategies. However, empirical tests and prior literature points to the issue of potential endogeneity within the energy poverty variable. I utilize district-level electricity price and the percentage of households in the district using biomass as a fuel source as instrumental variables to correct for the endogeneity issue. Using a 2SLS regression model, the findings reflect that multidimensional energy poverty does indeed have adverse consequences for an adult individual's health outcomes – both subjective and objective measures. The results also point to the negative effect of household energy poverty on an individual's likelihood to participate in the labour force and be in employment. These results are all highly significant. Lastly, I establish that multidimensional energy poverty is associated with lower number of school years and higher likelihoods of missing a school day. I also show that energy poverty has a gendered effect, with women in the household often experiencing worse outcomes. The TPT is used in a sensitivity analysis. Overall, the results from the investigation can assist in advising policymakers on how access to modern, clean energy sources can help individuals' development outcomes in South Africa. Keywords: energy poverty, development outcomes, instrumental variable.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Open Access
    Economic analysis of urban water resources under drought: understanding water management and planning in South Africa
    (2023) Aina, Ifedotun; Thiam, DjibyThiam
    Water scarcity is of the utmost importance for sustaining life and human development. This growing challenge is expected to worsen because of the changing dynamics observed in many countries worldwide. The increasing demand for water, driven primarily by population growth, is one of the main factors contributing to water scarcity. As the world's population continues to grow, so does demand for water for domestic purposes. Climate change is another significant factor exacerbating water scarcity. Changing weather patterns, such as reduced rainfall and the increased frequency and severity of droughts, affect water availability, making it more challenging to meet the growing demand for water. Economic progress is also a significant factor that contributes to water scarcity. Economic development often translates to increased water usage for economic production purposes, leading to overexploitation of water resources. Consequently, many countries face water shortages, which have adverse consequences for the environment and economy. Given these changing dynamics, it is crucial to reconsider the management and allocation of water resources. Therefore, it is important to develop sustainable water management policies that balance the competing demands for water and protect the environment and economic growth. This thesis contributes to the field of water resource management by leveraging insights from economic and environmental modelling methods. This thesis presents three papers with the common goal of understanding specific themes in the water sector, namely, households' preferences for water conservation technologies, the impact of tariffs on the choice of water supply source, and policy measures to optimize water allocation decisions in large water systems. It focuses on the case of South Africa and examines the challenges of water scarcity and management, providing a comprehensive understanding of the factors driving it and possible solutions to mitigate its impacts. The focus on South Africa is important because of its economic position in sub-Saharan Africa and its complex and diverse sets of water management challenges. Moreover, similar to many arid and semi-arid regions, the country faces extreme water scarcity and a high water demand for domestic and economic purposes. Hence, this study is likely to provide insights into enhancing water management initiatives in many other water-stressed countries. The first paper on household preferences for water saving technologies contributes to the discussion on climate change adaptation strategies in urban areas. This study aimed to investigate heterogeneity among households based on their preferences for the characteristics of four different water-saving technologies. This is achieved by analyzing the attributes that would drive the installation and adoption of water-saving technologies by urban dwellers in Cape Town. Using a choice modeling framework, primary survey data were gathered from 512 urban households located in five major suburbs of the city. Four preference classes were identified to account for taste heterogeneity. The results showed that members of Classes 1 and 2 expressed a high interest in technologies that could save a significant amount of water, whereas respondents in Classes 3 and 4 preferred inexpensive conservation and behavioral habits as climate adaptation measures. These findings have significant policy implications for water-stressed and arid cities, both within and outside South Africa, as many large cities require long-term measures to alleviate the pressure on their water systems, similar to Cape Town. The second study contributes to the literature on public utility regulation. This study estimates a household water demand system and investigates the substitution threshold of piped water and self-supplied groundwater sources for the better planning of water supply systems. Using a pooled cross-sectional dataset from the South African General Household Survey (GHS), the analysis showed a high substitution threshold for piped water and self-supplied groundwater. The results also provide insights into the potential welfare impact of a stylized piped water tariff change that leads to increased piped water choices in the study area. Finally, the third study presents the development of an integrated hydroeconomic model for a large water system in which the urban and agricultural sectors are the dominant water users, and climate change presents a major environmental challenge. This study uses data from the Western Cape Water Supply System (WCWSS) and analyzes the effects of two water allocation policies: water markets and proportional sharing. The results show the enhancement of the economic benefits that can be achieved when high-value water users are prioritized. This study proposes strategies for water resource management, given the imminent impacts of climate change on water availability in the coming decades.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Social safety nets in presence of weather shocks: three essays on development economics from village economies in Kenya
    (2022) Ongudi, Silas Okech; Thiam, DjibyThiam
    This thesis consists of three chapters that contribute towards a better understanding of the important role played by social safety net programs in supporting poor households mitigate the effects of weather shocks, reduce poverty and vulnerability, and increase consumption of healthy food. In achieving this, we undertake an in-depth analysis supported by econometric techniques to analyze the effect of social safety net program (in this case Hunger Safety Net Program, HSNP) on a range of outcomes. In all the chapters, we use data from HSNP transfer collected in the four districts (namely, Turkana, Marsabit, Mandera and Wajir) of Kenya covering 2009-2012. The central theme of this thesis is to contribute towards discussion around the possibility of using social protection policies as adaptation strategy to climate change. In the chapter two, we examine the effects of exposure to drought on child health and ask whether receipt of social safety net, in the form of HSNP cash transfer, could help poor households mitigate the negative effects of drought. Evidence from this study show that children residing in HSNP poor beneficiary households in treated sub-locations and were exposed to drought early in life experienced worse child's weight for age Z- scores by approximately 0.11 standard deviations compared to those in control sub-locations. At the same time, we show that children residing in HSNP poor beneficiary households in treated sublocations and were exposed to cumulative drought observed worse child's height for age Zscores by 0.01 standard deviations compared to those in control sub-locations. Second, we find possibility of remediation for cumulative drought on HAZ scores and on WAZ scores when drought is measured during in utero periods. These results provide suggestive evidence that the effects of drought might be long term in nature and that large investments are needed to cushion households against drought. This chapter contributes to several stands of economic literature. First, it extends the economic discussion on impacts of extreme weather events on child. Secondly, it contributes to the discussion on whether social safety net can help buffer the negative effects of weather-related shocks. Third, it extends the discussion on shocks and consumption smoothing in village economies. Fourth, our paper extendsthe discussion on the differences in gestational processes between male and female children in the developing world. Finally, our paper relates to the literature that links social safety net to climate change mitigation strategies in poor economies. The implications of our results are clear: in that large investments ae necessary in mitigating the effects of extreme weather events. The third chapter investigates whether, for some given households, receipt of social safety net would crowd out or crowd in private transfers received from social network members, and especially when households are exposed to drought. This chapter is motivated by the paucity of empirical evidence on how antipoverty programs affect informal transfers, particularly in poor economies where limited financial resources face competing demands from various sectors. A second motivation relates to the ambiguity of economic theory in predicting the direction and magnitude of transfer derivative (Gibson, Olivia, & Rozelle, 2011). Our result confirm evidence of per shilling crowding out when private transfers are received in non-cash forms. The crowding out effects is stronger at household compared to village levels. This chapter contributes to economic literature in different ways. First, it improves our understanding on the determinants of private transfers received by households by showing that previous level of poverty and drought exposure are important factors. Moreover, it extends the discussion on how households smooth their consumption levels using private transfers. In addition, it contributes to analysis of behavioural implication of receiving public transfer on demographic compositions and characteristics of rural households. Finally, we contribute to crowding out literature by providing evidence from a developing country perspective where such information is hard to find but necessary in helping design policies that account for the socio-economic features of the rural poor in Africa. In the final chapter, we analyze the effect of income (proxied by the receipt of HSNP transfer) on the consumption of nutrients amongst HSNP-beneficiary and non-beneficiary households. This chapter is motivated by the limited empirical evidence on how temporary income impact consumption of nutrients, in instances where risk-sharing practices between communities are strong (Townsend, 1995; Fafchamps and Lund, 2003; Dercon, et al., 2012). Under such setting, the effects of social program can also accrue to non-beneficiary households through familial or community-based channels, and this has a significant effect on the design of policies aimed at reducing extreme poverty and enhancing nutritional uptakes in the rural areas of developing countries. We show that HSNP poor beneficiary households in treated villages consume micronutrients (Heme iron, Vitamin A, C and beta carotene) rich diets, while HSNP non-poor, non- beneficiary households in treated villages consume more Vitamin A rich diets, compared to those in control villages. Further, this paper show that these effects operate through insurance and credit market channels. The implication of these findings are clear: increasing the amount of transfer received by households is likely to reduce malnutrition problem in village economies.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    The implication of privatising water supply in Sub-Saharan Africa: a qualitative study on urban water supply public-private partnerships in Ghana and Tanzania
    (2021) Putu, Tshegofatso Luthando; Thiam, DjibyThiam
    Since the 1990s, neo-liberal theory has suggested that privatisation is the panacea for public sector inefficiency. Many sub-Saharan African countries have subsequently undertaken varying degrees of privatisation because of pressure from donors and financiers such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. These international institutions have often attached this policy suggestion to loan and debt restructuring conditions, when interacting with developing countries. Specifically, developing countries have been advised to take on publicprivate partnerships which can be seen as an application of privatisation theory. These publicprivate partnerships have been said to increase financial efficiency, managerial efficiency and increase capital investment. Despite such expected long-term benefits, privatization – which has been operationalised through private sector participation - has not yielded positive outcomes for many sub-Saharan African countries. Many public-private partnerships have been cancelled or litigated for not achieving their objectives. Public-private partnership has also not been successful at stimulating critically needed capital investment. The study therefore tests the validity of the theory of privatisation through the examination of the experiences of public-private partnerships in urban water supply utilities in Ghana and Tanzania. I suggest that the characteristics of water supply infrastructure, and the associated risks diminish the prospects of success of public private partnerships. Poor data on water supply infrastructure, water supply capabilities, and water users limit efficiency objectives. These aspects, particularly the risk-related ones, also discourage private investors who subsequently opt for short-term and low risk contracts. This makes subsidies and operational loans from the state necessary in order to incentivise private participation. Alongside diluting the risks for private firms, the incentives for private participation also become diluted. The paper suggests that preoccupation with private or public ownership in the sub-Saharan African context is undue and that more focus needs to be assigned to capacitating local human resources and institutions.