The SA Reserve Bank (SARB) regularly determines the upper and lower turning points of the South African business cycle, but this is only completed after all the relevant information has been obtained, confirmed and analysed, causing a lengthy time lag between the actual determination and the...

This paper sets out the reasoning behind the fuzzy set approach to poverty measurement as a means to address both vertical and horizontal vagueness of poverty. The linear approach of Cerioli and Zani and the totally fuzzy and relative approach of Cheli and Lemmi are discussed and applied to the...

The paper reviews some of the existing economics of education literature from the perspective of South Africa’s education policymaking needs. It also puts forward a suggested research agenda for future work. The review is arranged according to five key areas of analysis: rates of return,...

Various data analysis approaches are used to gauge recent pre-primary enrolment trends in South Africa and the level of compliance with official age-grade norms in Grades R and 1. An analysis of the circumstances of Grade R learners finds that large class sizes are a problem. Two separate logit...

In South Africa there has been a surge in publicly funded adult literacy education in recent years. There is a recognition that for the effective monitoring of adult literacy, direct measures of literacy are required. Grade attainment, self-reported ability to read and behavioural variables...

The FIFA World Cup hosted in South Africa during June/July 2010 was a much anticipated sport spectacle, but also widely expected to yield lasting and considerable economic benefits for the host country. Optimistic scenarios have encouraged these expectations, but there have also been cautionary...

A review of a few input-output models indicates the importance of teacher ability, which may be independent of years of training, for improving pupil performance. A historical analysis confirms the substantial pay increases experienced by teachers in the mid-1990s, moderate pay increases in real...

Tourism flows are usually explained through demand-side factors such as income growth in developed economies and changes in the preferences of visitors. While these models are adequate for short-term forecasts, little theoretical justification is provided to explain why certain countries perform...

The global increase in the demand for tertiary education, with higher education systems expanding in many countries from elite systems to universal access, necessitated changes to the nature of higher education financing. Tuition fees, or other charges (where it was previously free) were...

Local and international research has identified a bias in favour of male students with MCQs. If correctly identified, this bias holds implications for reasonable assessment strategies in economics courses. A standard method used in the literature is to relate student performance to various...