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”
Outline: Beneficiation versus Diffusion
Definition of beneficiation “The treatment of raw material (such as iron ore) to improve physical or chemical properties especially in preparation for smelting “ Mail & Guardian The future is beneficiation Sharda Naidoo 10 Feb 2012 “Beneficiation is the new buzz word in government’s resource-nationalism plan, which proposes taxes on the export of raw materials in a…Continue reading Outline: Beneficiation versus Diffusion
Ditch Redistribution 2.0 in favour of overarching poverty reduction policy
Politicians are choosing the expedient populist route ahead of the election instead of tackling the root problem Business Day 13 FEBRUARY 2019 The run-up to the election should be disentangling how SA’s political and economic woes reinforce each other. Political parties should be fiercely competing to best frame the issues and provide solutions. Instead, policy…Continue reading Ditch Redistribution 2.0 in favour of overarching poverty reduction policy
Framing the DA’s BEE debate around solutions
Politicsweb.co.za | 08 February 2019 Export led growth is required to lift population out of poverty Values are to politics as branding is to retailing. This helps explain the DA’s leadership debating BEE legislation this weekend. To achieve internal consensus, the party should focus on how promoting its values aligns with developing a plan to pummel…Continue reading Framing the DA’s BEE debate around solutions
Misconceptions preclude progress
A plan is not optional SA cannot solve any of its economic challenges in the absence of a realistic long-term plan. The NDP is not a credible plan. Morally anchored values are important but insufficient SA’s 1990s transition emphasised values to the exclusion of objective, evidence-based analysis and this produced a persistent legacy. SA is not a wealthy country Many South Africans of various backgrounds continue to believe that SA…Continue reading Misconceptions preclude progress
Convictions versus Disconnects
South Africa’s challenges are imminently manageable. The disconnects are complex and they run deep; yet they can be unpacked and dispatched. The disconnects mostly reside amid the intersection of politics and economics. People are busy, their reactions to complex social challenges are rarely analysis based, rather they are based on personal values. People’s values and…Continue reading Convictions versus Disconnects
SA constrained by insufficient purchasing power and its failure to tap global sources
Business Day October 29 2018. Haphazard policy-making routinely traces to the ANC being overwhelmed by corruption and discredited ideologies. But why can’t any of the nation’s other key actors propose a workable growth model? The persistent methodological error is to see SA within an SA context. Might a protracted US-China trade war provoke the global…Continue reading SA constrained by insufficient purchasing power and its failure to tap global sources
LETTER: Growth depends on profit
By Fanie Brink 08 OCTOBER 2018 – 05:04 Business Day I am an agricultural economist with more than 40 years’ experience. I am also one of 30 economists who participate in the Netwerk24 Economist of the Year competition to predict the outcome of a couple of economic indicators, and therefore have to keep myself updated on current…Continue reading LETTER: Growth depends on profit