Many analysts use band-pass filters to remove so-called permanent components from output and then study the remainder, which is then termed the "business cycle". Building on the critique of these deviation cycles by Harding and Pagan and on the recent work on the mediumterm persistence of...

Trade is a critical component of economic growth in newly settled societies. This article tests the impact of ship traffic on the Cape economy using a time-series smoothing technique borrowed from the business cycle literature and employing an econometric procedure to test for long-run...

A number of South African price-fixing cases have been brought in markets previously characterized by legal cartels or monopolies. Furthermore, many South African markets have been liberalized since 1994, reflected in structural change in many market relationships and rendering many of the...

This article develops an analytical framework that can be used to assess competition in South African telecommunications and, thereafter, applies this framework in an evaluation of vertical integration patterns in the telecommunications industry. It is shown that, despite recent regulatory...

In recent years, South African competition authorities have initiated a number of price-fixing cases in markets where cooperation among competitors was legal and often encouraged. These markets present economists with special difficulties when estimating cartel overcharges. Conventional...

Market definition is conducted under conditions of notable uncertainty, due to conceptual ambiguity and model uncertainty. Statistical decision theory can help to explain and improve the market definition decision. Specifically, a Bayesian decision rule can assist analysts in defining markets by...

This paper initiates a research programme on the strategic implications of BEE, through an in-depth case study of a small South African services firm. The case involves a meter-reading firm that has adapted flexible boundaries within the value chain to accommodate heterogeneous client...

The process of financial integration has increased the exposure of South African financial markets to foreign financial crises. This paper contributes to the understanding of crisis transmission by evaluating several hypotheses that claim to explain how financial crises are transmitted to South...

Competition policy investigations usually commence with a definition of the relevant product and geographic market. The relevant market provides a first evaluation of competitive conditions and allows for the calculation of market shares, which aids in the assessment of firms’ market power....