Filter by...
Reset all
Publications (23)
Working Paper
pdf
– A Harbinger of Political Change?
South Africa has seen a significant increase in the size of the black middle class in the post-apartheid period, but the attitudinal consequences of indicators of the middle class, as of 2011, are inconsistent and modest in size. While members of the middle class are no more likely to hold...
Working Paper
pdf
– Implications for Food System Transformation
We examine the implications of the rise of a middle class in East and Southern Africa for food consumption patterns and the food system. A unique classification of food items shows that highly processed food has one-third of the purchased food market, with comparable shares in rural and urban areas...
Working Paper
pdf
– The Middle Class, Private Sector and Economic Outcomes in Africa
Political scientists have generally seen two key features of African political economies—a relatively small or absent middle class, and a middle class that is unusually embedded in the state—as key explanations of the troubled political and economic trajectories of many African societies. This paper...
Working Paper
pdf
– Evidence from Kenya
Barrington Moore’s famous line ‘no bourgeoisie, no democracy’ is one of the most quoted claims in political science. But has the rise of the African middle class promoted democratic consolidation? This paper uses the case of Kenya to investigate the attitudes and behaviours of the middle class...
Working Paper
pdf
The decline, or stagnation, in broad-based social expenditure, so crucial to the well being of mother and child, occurs because of various reasons. First, the government may derive less utility from this category of expenditure, compared to spending on its political support group, the military or...
Working Paper
pdf
– Lessons from Sub-Saharan Africa
This paper analyses prospects for foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa. The problems with regard to attracting FDI in small economies are not that different than those in larger economies in the developing world. In particular, lack of infrastructure, cumbersome government regulations and...
Working Paper
pdf
– Supply and Demand Restraints in a North-South Macro-model
This paper constructs a macroeconomic model of North-South interaction where the flow of narcotics from the South to the North is restricted. Their economic effects are akin to quantitative restrictions in trade policy. Two alternative policy scenarios will be considered. One involves reducing the...
Working Paper
pdf
This paper reviews the critical theoretical and policy issues relating to growth, economic development and structural transition in small states. The paper discusses alternative perspectives on small size and highlights the salient characteristics which give rise to their economic sub-optimality...
Working Paper
pdf
By globalization we mean an external shock; specifically an increased world demand for various goods (or bads) including the products and services which are illegal. We analyse the effects of these shocks on growth and capital stocks by utilizing two different models. The first examines an exogenous...
Working Paper
pdf
This paper examines the impact of increasing integration of the island economies of the South Pacific into expanding international markets, particularly that of Fiji and the Solomon Islands. Since the 1980s, globalization of the world economy has altered dramatically the volume and character of...
Working Paper
pdf
– Laos and Vietnam
This paper examines the impact of globalization on two transitional economies in Asia. Both countries have undergone a radical economic reform process over the past decade, assisted by increases in external trade flows, foreign investment activity, and external assistance. However, the pace of...
Working Paper
pdf
Globalization has drastically improved access of technological latecomers to advanced technologies and provides a unique opportunity for low-income countries to raise per capita income. This paper shows that low-income countries as a group have in fact substantially increased the GDP-ratio of...
Working Paper
pdf
– Relative Success and Comparative Failure
Botswana and Zimbabwe represent two cases of differential access to the world economy. Notwithstanding its lack of diversification and its reliance on a primary mineral export, Botswana has prospered while Zimbabwe has fallen into a deep crisis. Historical and comparative evidence allows us to...
Working Paper
pdf
– the Role of Institutions in Managing Vulnerability and Opportunity in Small Developing Countries
Small states have always been more vulnerable in the global economy. This is so because trade comprises a larger proportion of their economic activity, and because they lack the power to set the terms or make any of the rules that govern globalization. Studies of small states tend to focus on the...
Working Paper
pdf
The paper discusses the costs and benefits to be expected by least-developed and low-income (‘vulnerable’) economies if they accede to the WTO, the impact of current debates about WTO reform on vulnerable economies, and measures to make it easier for vulnerable economies to accede to and actively...
Working Paper
pdf
– Lessons from the Recent Crisis in Southeast Asia
Up until the recent crisis, the Southeast Asian region had been regarded as one of the most dynamic regions in the global economy. Their industrial structures have undergone a process of adjustment into more capital-intensive and technologically sophisticated manufacturing sectors. These adjustments...
Displaying 16 of 23 results