Researching the fields of labour markets, inequality and poverty

Southern African Update

The Southern African Update was featured in the Trade & Industry Monitor and was provided by the Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS). The Update presented methods required for research in areas of trade and industry as well as ways of applying such methods to trade data. Most of the trade data used is available on the TIPS website for the research community.

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Southern African Update, Volume 18, June 2003
 WTO Telecommunications Negotiations: How Should SADC Countries Respond.

The SADC Free Trade Agreement (FTA) came into effect recently. Periodic examination of intra-SADC trade flows is an important element of monitoring the impact of the FTA. Ximena Gonzalez-Nunez reports.

Southern African Update, Volume 17, March 2003
 An Analysis of Intra-SADC Trade

Telecommunications services are an important focus for most industrial countries in the current round of trade talks in services. Initial negotiating positions and country requests by these industrial countries all call for full liberalisation of the sector. James Hodge reports that SADC countries have already embarked on reform in telecommunications but few have made commitments in the WTO and almost none propose going as far as full liberalisation in the foreseeable future.

Southern African Update, Volume 16, December 2002
The Doha Agenda Challenges for SADC Countries

There is need to ensure that the Doha Agenda and WTO rules are useful to developing countries. It is important that implementation problems be considered in the context of a nation's overall development strategy. SADC countries should insist on linking implementation of resource-intensive agreements to the provision of development assistance. Kennedy Mbekeani argues that WTO rules that require substantial costs should be implemented consistently with a country's development strategy.

Southern African Update, Volume 15, September 2002
SADC Rules of Origin: Impediments to Regional Integration and Global Competitiveness

The SADC free trade agreement (FTA), which came into being at the beginning of 2000 is up for a mid term review during 2004. The agreement is characterised by complex and restrictive rules of origin. Using references to case studies, Frank Flatters argues that if rules of origin were used simply to authenticate whether imports arise from fundamental economic activity in the region, the SADC FTA could help promote regional trade and international competitiveness of Member States. If they continue to be used for protection or for social and economic goals that can be better achieved by other means, the SADC FTA might at best be irrelevant for the region's development.

Southern African Update, Volume 14, June 2002
 The Impact of the European Union-South African Free Trade Agreement

Following the recent Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the European Union (EU) and South Africa (SA), a definite concern has arisen amongst the countries within the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) as to the impact of this Free Trade Agreement on their exports into these two markets. It is feared that although many COMESA countries already have preferential access for certain of their exports into both markets, the margin of preference in their favour may be reduced following the new trade agreement. In this article James Thurlow and Merle Holden aim to determine the extent to which the concerns of COMESA are founded and whether the European Union - South Africa Free Trade Agreement will indeed result in significant trade diversion.

Southern African Update, Volume 13, March 2002
Poverty Reduction: A Top Priority in  SADCs Integration Agenda

In this issue of the Update, Dr Prega Ramsamy  examines the nature and magnitude of poverty in the SADC as well as its determinants

Southern African Update, Volume 12, December 2001
Sectoral linkages and employment in South Africa
Demand for labour by skill category can vary considerably across production activities In this issue of the Update, Jeffrey Lewis takes a look at the role of intersectoral linkages, and the extent to which structural features affect employment creation potential in South Africa.

Southern African Update, Volume 11, September 2001
The Southern African Trade Research Network (SATRN)
The global trading system is important to Southern Africa, but according to Kennedy Mbekeani of the Botswana Institute of Development Policy Analysis and Stephen Yeo of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, the countries of the region do not yet participate effectively in the workings of the system, and in particular in the operation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This calls for the establishment of a trade research network in Southern Africa.

Southern African Update, Volume 10, June 2001
The SADC Trade Protocol: Which Way ahead?

The SADC Trade Protocol is but one element of the strategies of member states to benefit from the opportunities of international economic integration. Its ultimate impact will depend on whether it assists or hinders this integration process. In this edition of the Update, Frank Flatters review the likely impact of the Protocol by highlighting some of the strengths and weaknesses that have emerged in the negotiation and implementation processes to date.

Southern African Update, Volume 9, March 2001
 The impact of capital flows to and from South Africa

Economic change in Southern Africa can be analysed using recently developed data and software constructed by the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) at Purdue University, in collaboration with numerous researchers in Africa with financial support from USAID. In this issue of the Update, William Masters investigates the impact of capital flows on South Africa and on the region.

Southern African Update, Volume 8, December 2000
 Prospects for Financial Sector Reform in the Context of Regional Integration in SADC. Rosalind Mowatt

The financial systems of most countries in Southern Africa remain relatively underdeveloped. This issue of the Update explores some of the ways in which regional integration could contribute to the development and strengthening of the financial sector in the Southern African Development region
 

Southern African Update, Volume 7, September 2000
Global Trade Analysis for Southern Africa

Implementation of the SA-EU agreement is scheduled to begin in the year 2000, but is threatened by uncertainty and conflict over its possible effects. In order to help policymakers take account of the effects of trade policy, EAGER/Trade researchers have compiled a database of production, trade and policy relationships. In this issue of the Update, William Masters reports on how this database and software can be used to simulate the consequences of different policy options.

Southern African Update, Volume 6, June 2000
South African trade with the Indian Ocean Rim. Thembi Mlangeni & Dirk van Seventer

Trade flows between SA and the IOR have been quite low over the last decade, starting from a very low base in 1989 and increasing at a slow pace. However, IOR exports to SA increased significantly from 1994 onwards. This issue of the update examines in some detail, trade between South Africa and the rest of the IOR-ARG which can be seen as an update of analysis previously undertaken by Holden & Isemonger (1999).

Southern African Update, Volume 5, March 2000
Revealed Comparative Advantage in SADC Economies. Thembi Mlangeni Lawrence Edwards & Dirk van Seventer

Comparative advantage as a concept to evaluate patterns of trade is widely accepted and it often features in theoretical and policy discussions. However, the measurment of a countrys comparative advantage in a particular commodity is difficult. This issue of the Update looks at the measurement of comparative advantage in SADC economies.
 

Southern African Update, Volume 4, December 1999
Compiling and applying a social accounting matrix for Zimbabwe: a review. Dirk van Seventer

In order to evaluate trade between South Africa and other economies in the Southern African region, policymakers need to take note of the economic structure of other SADC economies. TIPS is therefore making an effort to collect and disseminate economic structure information for countries such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania and Botswana. In this issue of the Update we take a more detailed look at the Zimbabwean economy using a social accounting matrix.
 

Southern African Update, Volume 3, September 1999
Trade between SACU and SADC in the 1990s. Thembi Mlangeni & Dirk van Seventer

The Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) is paying significant attention to trade with the rest of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Increased trade relations within SADC, amongst other by means of trade liberalisation, is considered to have a positive impact on regional integration. In this issue of the Update, the focus falls on trade between the South African Customs Union (SACU) and SADC.

Southern African Update, Volume 2, June 1999
An Overview of Economic Structure Analysis in SADC. Rashad Cassim & Dirk van Seventer

Economic structures data, such as input-output tables and social accounting matrices frequently frustrate non-economists and policymakers. However, policy considerations are often based on these data sets. This note has two objectives: firstly, to develop some appreciation for social accounting matrices in a Southern African context and, secondly, to stress the importance of why governments should invest resources in improving the quality and reliability of these data sets.
 

Southern African Update, Volume 1, March 1999
Building Capacity in Southern African Trade and Industrial Policy Analysis.  Rashad Cassim & Dirk van Seventer

In an effort to service its target group effectively and efficiently with appropriate data, TIPS will develop a Management Information System (MIS) which allows for retrieval of economic, trade and industrial data via the Internet and create capacity to undertake appropriate analysis with such data bases. The target group in this case is the South African Department of Trade and Industry and the wider academic research community, not only in South and Southern Africa, but also in the rest of the world.

The main objectives of the project are to provide high quality, centralised and standardised trade and industry data to the research and policy making community, to train researchers and policy makers in the use of analytical tools for the formulation and evaluation of trade and industrial policy options and to link researchers and policy makers so that they may formulate effective policies.

There are various modalities through which these objectives are carried out. These are the ongoing development of the database, the development of training programmes that link very closely to the data and networking with other initiatives in the region. Below, we discuss each element briefly, after which we present the broad outline of an initial set of data available at the TIPS MIS.
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