Counter-cyclical capital buffers are increasingly popular new "macroprudential" tools. However, there is limited empirical evidence on both the intended and unintended consequences of using these buffers. During the pre-crisis period (2002--2007), South Africa increased capital adequacy ratios...

This paper follows work by Choi, Kim and O’Sullivan (2011), but deviates from their analysis by looking at the relative price variability (RPV) of selected components of the consumer price index (CPI) rather than an aggregate measure. The purpose of this work is to analyse which...

The sub-optimal savings propensity in South Africa the past three decades causes concern for the ability of the country to support its economic development. An historical analysis of the development of the savings’ trends in South Africa may assist in understanding the historical roots of...

This study employs a novel approach to measure and analyse quality of life in the Gauteng City-Region of South Africa. A comprehensive composite index is constructed. Comparing the quality of life of different groups, groups such as Africans, residents in urban informal settlements and females...

The effect of trade liberalisation on environmental conditions has yielded significant debate in the energy economics literature. Although research on the relationship between energy consumption, emissions and economic growth is not new in South Africa, no study specifically addresses the role...

This paper examines the Nelson Mandela Bay public’s willingness to pay (WTP) for the removal of a local undesirable land use, the manganese ore dumps and the oil tank farm situated within the boundaries of the Port Elizabeth harbour, Eastern Cape, South Africa, by means of the contingent...

This paper analyses wage subsidies on lower-skilled formal workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). A multi-sectoral empirically-calibrated general equilibrium model capturing the economy-wide transactions between the formal and informal sectors is used to analyse one policy simulation...

This paper uses a dynamic CGE model to help explain some apparent contradictions between changes in the structure of the South African economy and movements in related variables over the 2006 to 2013 period. Most notably, an increase in the capital-labour ratio was identified, despite a relative...

We assess the degree of persistence in armed conflict in particular places over the last two centuries, asking in addition if conflict-ridden places have durable features – social, demographic or geographical – that explain persistence, or whether armed conflict at one time has a...

Persistent protests might endanger the stability of young democracies because the economic legacies of the old autocratic regimes tend to outlive their political structures. This paper seeks to explore the micro-level predictors of protest potential in South Africa before and after the end of...