Lawrence Edwards

Research

Recent papers

Distortions in Agricultural Incentives: South African case study (with N. Vink and J. Kirsten) (2007). Forthcoming book chapter, Anderson, K. Distortions in Agricultural Incentives, World Bank.

Protectionist Policies And Manufacturing Trade Flows In Africa (2007). Paper presented at the ABCDE conference, Cape Town 9-11 June 2008.

L. Edwards and M. Morris. An evaluation of the employment trends in the clothing and textile industry.

Edwards, L. and Lawrence, R. Forthcoming 2008. South African Trade Policy Matters: Trade Performance & Trade Policy, Forthcoming in Economics of Transition. (Also NBER Working paper W12760/CID Working Paper No. 135.)

SACU Tariff Policies: Where should they go from here? (with Robert Lawrence)

Media

A New Trade Plan, Mail & Guardian 16 May 2008, Robert Lawrence and Lawrence Edwards (http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/insight/insight__economy__business/&articleid=339691&referrer=RSS)

A piecemeal approach will not do the tariff trick for SA, Business Day, Wed 28 Nov 2007 (with Robert Lawrence). http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/topstories.aspx?ID=BD4A641739 

Faltering mechanism of SA trade needs bolder repairs, Business day, 5 Sept 2007. (with Frank Flatters and Matthew Stern). (http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/article.aspx?ID=BD4A556110)

Why quotas won’t mend job woes, Business Report, 26 October 2006 (with Mike Morris) (http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=553&fArticleId=3505004)

Manuel says SA should go it alone on free trade, Business day, 31 October 2007.
http://www.businessday.co.za/Articles/TarkArticle.aspx?ID=3033686 

Trade reform (Business day editorial), 1 November 2007, http://www.businessday.co.za/Articles/TarkArticle.aspx?ID=3035187 

Manuel’s trade ideas receive mixed reaction , Business day, 2 November 2007, http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/topstories.aspx?ID=BD4A603263 

Beware long-term rand weakness, warn economists, by Ethel Hazelhurst, Business Report, February 14, 2007. http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=561&fArticleId=3680563 

Geekonomics, Exporter, Business Day, 5 March 2007.

SA exporters told not to rely on trade protection, by Lynda Loxton, Business Report 14/04/2005.

Doha lull ‘gives SA time to finalise policy’, by Mathabo le Roux, Business Day, 3 August 2006.

Journals and book chapters

Edwards, L., Cassim, R. and Van Seventer, D. Forthcoming 2009. “Trade policy since democracy”. Aron, J., B. Kahn and G. Kingdon (eds.) South African Economic Policy Under Democracy, Oxford University Press.

Balchin, N. and Edwards, L. 2008. Trade related business climate and manufacturing export performance in Africa: A Firm Level Analysis. Forthcoming in Journal of Development Perspectives.

The Benefit-Incidence of Tariff Liberalisation in South Africa by Reza C. Daniels and Lawrence Edwards. Journal for studies in Economics and Econometrics, 2007, 31(2): 69-88. See site: http://www.saldru.uct.ac.za/trade&poverty.html

“Trade, enterprise production and employment” with Paul Dunne. Journal for studies in Economics and Econometrics, 2007, 31(2): 49-68. See site: http://www.saldru.uct.ac.za/trade&poverty.html

“Trade and Poverty in South Africa: Trade sector employment and vulnerability” (with K Pauw & M. Leibbrandt) Journal for studies in Economics and Econometrics, 2007, 31(2): 89-108. See site: http://www.saldru.uct.ac.za/trade&poverty.html

“Trade and Poverty Research Project in SA: Key lessons and policy recommendations” (with M. Stern). Journal for studies in Economics and Econometrics, 2007, 31(2): 1-22. See site: http://www.saldru.uct.ac.za/trade&poverty.html

Distortions in Agricultural Incentives: South African case study (with N. Vink and J. Kirsten) (2007). Forthcoming book chapter, Anderson, K. Distortions in Agricultural Incentives, World Bank.

Edwards, L. and Smith, L. 2007. A multivariate evaluation of mainstream and academic development courses in first-year microeconomics. South African Journal of Economics

Edwards, L. and Morris, M. 2007. Undressing the numbers: The effect of import quotas on clothing and textile employment. Journal of Development Perspectives, 2,2: 121-140.

Edwards, L. and Alves, P. 2006. South Africa's export performance: Determinants of export supply. Paper prepared for the World Bank South African Office. Africa Region Working Paper Series No.95 . South African Journal of Economics, 74, 3: 473-500.

Edwards, L. and Pauw, K. 2006. Evaluating the general equilibrium effects of a wage subsidy scheme for South Africa. Economic Research Southern Africa Working Paper 23.  South African Journal of Economics, 74, 3: 442-462.

Edwards, L. and Behar, A. 2006. Trade liberalisation and labour demand within South African Manufacturing firms. Economic Research Southern Africa Working Paper 7. Journal of Studies in Economics and Econometrics, 30, 2: 127-146.

Edwards, L. 2006. Trade liberalisation and labour demand in South Africa during the 1990s. Strategies and Analysis for Growth and Access (SAGA) Working Paper, October 2005. Also Chapter 6 In Bhorat, H. and Kanbur, R. (eds.) (1996) Poverty and Policy in the Post-Apartheid South Africa, HSRC Press.

Edwards, L. 2005. Has South Africa liberalised its trade? Paper prepared for the Trade and Poverty Project, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU). Available from http://www.saldru.uct.ac.za/saldru_trade&poverty.html. South African Journal of Economics 73, 4: 754-775.

Edwards, L. and Golub, L. 2004. South Africa’s International Cost Competitiveness and Productivity in Manufacturing. World Development, 32, 8: 1323-1339

Edwards, L. and Golub, S. 2003. South African productivity and capital accumulation in manufacturing: an international comparative analysis. South African Journal of Economics, 71, 4.

Edwards, L. 2003. A firm level analysis of trade, technology and employment in South Africa. Journal of International Development, 17: 1-17. Also a DFID CSSR Research Programme on Globalisation and Poverty Discussion paper No. 5.

Edwards, L & Schoer, V., 2002. Measures of competitiveness: a dynamic approach to South Africa’s trade performance in the 1990s. South African Journal of Economics, Vol. 70, No. 6: 1008-1046.

Edwards, L. 2001. Trade and the structure of South African production, 1984-97. Development Southern Africa, 18, 4: 471-492

Edwards, L. 2001. Globalisation and the skill bias of occupational employment in South Africa. South African Journal of Economics, 69, 1: 40-71.

Edwards, L. 2000. An econometric evaluation of economic academic development programs. South African Journal of Economics, 68, 3: 455-483. (awarded the Economic Society of South Africa’s JJI Middleton medallion)

Edwards, L. and Leibbrandt, M., 1998. Domestic wheat demand in a deregulated environment: Modelling the importance of wheat quality characteristics. Agrekon, September 1998

Edwards, L. 1996. Book review of Jaffee, S. and Morton, J. Marketing Africa's High Value Foods. Journal of Contemporary African Studies, July 1996, 14, 2.

Non-accredited publications/submitted articles

Edwards, L. and Garlick, R. (2007). Trade flows and the exchange rate in South Africa. Chapter in “State of Trade Policy in South Africa”, Trade and Industry Policy Strategies (TIPS).

L. Edwards and M. Morris (2007). An evaluation of the employment trends in the clothing and textile industry.

Edwards, L. and Van de Winkel, T. 2005. The Market Disciplining Effects of Trade Liberalisation and Regional Import Penetration on Manufacturing in South Africa. Trade and Industry Strategies Working Paper 1-2005. Shorter version presented in the Trade and Industry Monitor, Vol 33, March 2005.

Behar, A. and Edwards, L. 2004. Estimating elasticities of demand and supply for South African manufactured exports using a vector error correction model. Centre for the Study of African Economies Working Paper Series, WPS/2004-04.

Edwards, L. 2003. Globalisation and the demand for skills in South Africa, ID21 Insights issue No. 47, [Online] http://www.id21.org/insights/insights47/index.html.

Edwards, L. and Golub, S. 2003. South African international cost competitiveness and exports: A sectoral analysis. Trade & Industry Monitor, 25: 2-5.

Edwards, L., 2002. Trade, technology and employment in South Africa. Trade & Industry Monitor, 23: 11-15.

Edwards, L. 2000. Labour shedding output growth: Is trade the culprit? Trade & Industry Monitor, 14: 2-5.

Edwards, L . and Leibbrandt, M., 1997. Understanding deregulation: An analysis of the wheat processing industry. Trade Monitor, vol 4, pg. 12 – 17

Other reports

"Trade flows and the exchange rate in South Africa" (with Rob Garlick). Paper prepared for Trade and Industry Policy Strategies (TIPS) State of Trade Policy in South Africa" report.

Exchange rate depreciation and the trade balance in South Africa (with Owen Wilcox) prepared with Genesis Consulting for the National Treasury, 2003.

The Economic impact of gas development options in the Western Cape. A report for the Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa (PetroSA), 2003/04

The economic impact of deregulation on the South African liquid fuels industry. Report prepared for the Department of Mineral Energies in conjunction with SAD-ELEC, 2002.

National Enterprise Survey: Investment behaviour in Knowledge Intensive Sectors. Project report for the Policy Co-ordination and Advisory Services Unit, Ministry of Trade and Industry, 2000.

Work in progress

We have finalised (together with Matthew Stern) the Trade and Poverty Project funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), USAID and the Department of Trade and Industry (see http://www.saldru.uct.ac.za/trade&poverty.html). The project explores the impact of trade liberalisation on poverty in South Africa.

I was fortunate enough to participate in the National Treasury funded Growth Diagnostics project in 2006 and 2007. Two papers emerged from this involvement:

Edwards, L. and Lawrence, R.Z. (2006) South African Trade Policy Matters: Trade Performance & Trade Policy, NBER Working Paper No. 12760.

Edwards, L. and Lawrence, R.Z. (2006) SACU tariff policies: where should they go from here?