Welcome to ERSA

Research Briefs

Farm diversification and climate change: implications for food security in northern Namibia by Chalmers Mulwa and Martine Visser
Background
Risk is inherent in small-scale rain-fed agricultural production. Farmers have to contend with seasonal weather uncertainties, the threat of pests and diseases, post-harvest losses, among other risks.
The relationship between renewable energy and retail electricity prices: Panel evidence from OECD countries by A. M Oosthuizen, R. Inglesi-Lotz and G. A Thopil

The centrality of electricity to everyday life is indisputable, and the price thereof can have significant implications.

The effect of price and non-price policies on cigarette consumption in South Africa by Ernest Ngeh Tingum, Alfred Kechia Mukong and Noreen Mdege

The health consequences of smoking are quite enormous and have been detailed on countless occasions. As a result of the elevated risk of smoking-related diseases, a smoker from early life can be expected to die about 6 years earlier than a comparable non-smoker. 

Latest Publications

Capital Account Liberalization and Capital Flows to Sub-Saharan Africa: A Panel Threshold Approach by Tamara Esther Mughogho and Imhotep Paul Alagidede

Theory on capital account liberalization (CAL) posits that opening up capital accounts should result in inflows of capital to developing countries. Empirical evidence of this for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains wanting.

Spatial dependence of per capita property tax income in South Africa by Kabeya Clement Mulamba and Fiona Tergenna

We investigate spatial dependence of per capita property tax income among South African municipalities. One original contribution of our study is the use of per capita property tax income, rather than the property tax rate, as the outcome variable.

Adapting Herzberg: Predicting Attendees' Satisfaction and Intention to Re-Visit a Festival - An Ordered Logit Approach by Love Odion Idahosa and Tembi Maloney Tichaawa

This study adapts Herzberg's two-factor theory to investigate the satisfaction levels of attendees at the 2016 Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC) held in Cameroon.

The effects of price and non-price policies on cigarette consumption in South Africa by Ernest Ngeh Tingum, Alfred Kechia Mukong and Noreen Mdege
The health consequences of smoking are serious and have been frequently detailed. A reduction in tobacco-related mortality hinges upon the ability to reduce tobacco usage.
Farm diversification and climate change: implications for food security in Northern Namibia by Chalmers Mulwa and Martine Visser

Limited non-farm opportunities in the rural areas of the developing world, coupled with population growth, means agriculture will continue to play a dominant role as a source of livelihood in these areas.

Workshops

Macroeconomic and Financial Modelling for Economic Policy
Tuesday, November 26, 2019 to Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Workshop location: University of Pretoria, Research Hub - EMS Building
The 7th Annual Monetary Economics workshop will be dedicated to the contribution of macroeconomic and financial modelling to the formulation of economic policy.
CALL FOR PAPERS: Representivity, Diversity, and Gender in Economics in South Africa
Saturday, February 1, 2020 to Thursday, February 27, 2020
Workshop location: TBC, South Africa
South Africa has had its fair share of issues with regards to the participation and contribution of various groups in society. These issues cut across various social cleavages such as race and gender.
Invite and Call for Papers: Economics of Digitization
Wednesday, April 8, 2020 to Thursday, April 9, 2020
Workshop location: Cape Town
**Keynote Speakers**Marc Bourreau (Telecom Paris)Frank Verboven (KU Leuven)

Latest Journal Publications

Realized correlations, betas and volatility spillover in the commodity market: What has changed? by Matteo Bonato
Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S104244311830009X?via%3Dihub)
This papers adopts the recently proposed realized Beta GARCH model of Hansen et al. (J. Appl. Econ.
Factors influencing people’s perceptions towards conservation of transboundary wildlife resources. The case of the Great-Limpopo Trans-frontier Conservation Area by Herbert Ntuli, Sverker C. Jagers, Edwin Muchapondwa, Amanda Linell, Martin SjÖstedt
Biodiversity and Conservation (https://www.springerprofessional.de/factors-influencing-local-communities-percep...)

Local people’s perceptions of protected areas greatly determine the success of conservation efforts in Southern Africa as these perceptions affect people’s attitudes and behaviour in respect to conservation.

The J–Curve Phenomenon: Evidence from Commodity Trade Between South Africa and the United States by Hammed Amusa and David Fadiran
J.Stud.Econ.Econometrics,2019,43 (1) (https://journals.co.za/content/journal/10520/EJC-1665285ea7)

Previous studies on the J–curve phenomenon for South Africa have been carried out using either aggregate trade data between South Africa and the rest of the world or between South Africa and her major trading partners.

The household effects of very large electricity tariff hikes in Zambia by Mashekwa Maboshe, Akabondo Kabechani and Grieve Chelwa
Energy Policy 126 (2019) 108-117 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421518306967?via%3Dihub)

This paper simulates the real household expenditure effects of electricity price increases in Zambia. First, we find that electricity subsidies are highly regressive.

Teacher Pay and Educational Outcomes: Evidence from the Rural Hardship Allowance in Zambia by Grieve Chelwa, Miquel Pellicer, Mashekwa Maboshe
South African Journal of Economics (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/saje.12227)

This paper studies the effect of unconditional teacher salary increases on teacher and student outcomes. To study the issue, we evaluate the rural hardship allowance in Zambia, which corresponds to a salary increase of 20%.