Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the causal link between trade openness and government size for the five largest economies in Africa taking into account the role of compensation hypothesis in an economy. Design/methodology/approach - Time series data for five countries covering...

South Africa's engagement in global development structures has evolved since 1994, when the country re-entered the international community. The historical philosophical underpinnings of the African National Congress, the governing party, aimed to reaffirm the country’s place in the Global...

This study examines the tripartite relationship between financial development, trade openness and economic growth in Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa for the 1980-2014 period. The study reveals a long-run causal relationship between financial development, trade openness and economic growth,...

In a polarised and highly unequal country such as South Africa, it is unlikely that a definition of the middle class that is based on an income threshold will adequately capture the political and social meanings of being middle class. We therefore propose a multi-dimensional definition, rooted...

This paper examines the impact of both bank- and market-based financial development on economic growth in South Africa during the period from 1980 to 2012. Unlike some previous studies, the current study employs means-removed average to construct both bank- and market-based financial development...

This study explores the question of structural change and inclusive development in South Africa and Brazil. Using Census data from the two countries, the analysis combines a household level multidimensional indicator of well-being with the applications of growth incidence curves and a sectoral...