Apart from encouraging graft, prioritising transformation is unworkable even with ideal governance Progress requires framing challenges in ways that make them solvable. Instead, SA’s 1990s political transformation was predicated on the hope that a legitimate government would provoke equitable outcomes, and that hope morphed into misconceptions that became too politically combustible to confront. Meaningful economic…Continue reading Progress hinges on putting poverty alleviation before BEE
Author: Shawn Hagedorn
Export-led foreign investment is the answer to SA’s economic woes
With the domestic market out of puff, locals producing services and products for foreign markets will rake in cash and boost skills Is attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) a panacea or another flavour-of-the-day pseudo solution that distracts from unlocking the country’s growth potential? The short answer is that SA needs to attract a specific type…Continue reading Export-led foreign investment is the answer to SA’s economic woes
The focus on redistribution, rather than growth, keeps the country poor
SA’s national debates are stuck on how the past affects the future, while Asian countries have thrown off the past by creating value Horrific education outcomes limit growth prospects, yet this encourages the poor to support the governing party as their reliance on the government deepens. More surprisingly, the high end of our national debates…Continue reading The focus on redistribution, rather than growth, keeps the country poor
Fukuyama in SA
Politicsweb.co.za | 21 March 2019 Shawn Hagedorn writes on the insights that could be brought to bear on our predicament No international expert is better qualified to diagnose SA’s multi-dimensional disconnects than Francis Fukuyama. He will give a live-streamed lecture from Johannesburg next Thursday evening. The event is hosted by the CDE which previously arranged…Continue reading Fukuyama in SA
World has many lessons for an SA blinded by politics and prisms
Business Day 12 MARCH 2019 Learning from mistakes, and from others, requires objective assessments of both political and economic policies With risks intensifying as the elections near, why are none of the political parties or influential actors able to offer comprehensive, workable solutions? Or rather, how did politics crowding out evidence-based analysis become the norm?…Continue reading World has many lessons for an SA blinded by politics and prisms
Outlining SA’s underlying disconnect: Power, poverty and aspirations
SA’s ruling party interprets its electoral support as a mandate to use its resulting legislative powers to remedy historical injustices. This political interpretation is no doubt accurate but that doesn’t mean it is economically workable. The ruling party has much scope to shape the purchasing patterns of domestic businesses and households whereas Dependency theory in…Continue reading Outlining SA’s underlying disconnect: Power, poverty and aspirations
Initial thoughts: Why final demand is the binding constraint acting on SA and the global economy.
Why SA’s politics pressure its policy makers from accepting this core reality. With the exception of tourism having been prioritised, SA’s economic policies are out of synch with the most profound trends acting on the global economy. SA’s politics reflect a belief that the country has much inherent wealth that must be redistributed. The concept…Continue reading Initial thoughts: Why final demand is the binding constraint acting on SA and the global economy.
First notes: What does a high prevalence of funeral policies tell us?
What does the success of SA’s burial cover industry tell us about the health of the country? If there are less than 15 million households and almost 10 million funeral cover policies, what does that tell us about the country’s ability to create a large, sustainable middle class? If, after 25 years of universal adult…Continue reading First notes: What does a high prevalence of funeral policies tell us?
Initial sketch: How healthy can SA’s alignment with China be?
Those well positioned to make such assessments, irrespective of their nationalities, don’t see China’s political-economic model as being exportable – mostly because it very clearly isn’t. For at least two thousand years, China’s culture has developed along a distinct path of favouring communal interests instead of emphasising individual rights. China is seen by many political…Continue reading Initial sketch: How healthy can SA’s alignment with China be?
Sketchpad: Why everyone is “emigrating”
The pace of change is increasing at an increasing rate. There is no maintain-the-status-quo option. Thus, in a sense, we are all migrants. There are various global disruptors and would-be disruptors. Sometimes the disruptors are iconic entrepreneurs such as Jobs or Musk. More frequently the individual changes are undramatic and the actors anonymous. But companies…Continue reading Sketchpad: Why everyone is “emigrating”