This study examines the effect of foreign direct investment on domestic entrepreneurship in South Africa. With the focus on inward capital flows, the study specifically employed stock data and the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor to measure the impact. The data set analysed is for the period 2000–18, and after testing a Threshold Vector Autoregressive model, it was established that there is a short-run and long-run nonlinear relationship between foreign direct investment and domestic entrepreneurship in South Africa. The key findings of the study were that foreign direct investment has a positive short-run and long-run influence on domestic entrepreneurship. The policy recommendations are for government to create an eco-system that supports entrepreneurship through the lowering of regulatory burden on new domestic firms and enact robust sector-specific localisation policies for big corporations.

Background and setting: The global food price surge of 2006 to 2008 has negatively impacted South African households. Rising food prices adversely affect food security in South Africa. The ever-increasing prices for food commodities and lack of access to finance make it very difficult to strengthen food security amongst households in South Africa. Aim: The aim of the study is to examine the impact of food prices on household welfare in South Africa. Additionally, the study attempts to analyse the short- and long-run relationship between food prices and household welfare in South Africa. This is done by determining how real household welfare responds and/or reacts whenever there is a shock in food prices and its fundamental determinants. Finally, the study attempts to distil recommendations toward a conceptual framework for the mitigation of the impact of high food prices on households in South Africa. Method: The Vector Error Correction Modelling (VECM) technique is utilised to estimate a regression model. Results: The results reveal that a 1% increase in food prices would reduce household welfare by 21.3%. The study, therefore, confirms a negative correlation between food prices and welfare. Conclusion: Short-run policy recommendations include: (1) subsidising staple food baskets for households in South Africa, (2) reducing prices of staple foods through the reduction of food tariffs and (3) reducing household expenditure on basic needs through subsidisation. These policy options could lessen the burden on households when there is a rise in the prices of staple food sources and therefore improve household welfare. Long-run policy recommendations include: (1) improving the unemployment rate in South Africa and (2) improving access to finance and credit for South African households. By addressing the rising unemployment rates and improving access to finance and credit in South Africa through job creation initiatives and improving micro-credit strategies, an environment can be created where households improve their disposable income.

This study examines the impact of increasing climate variability on food production in South Africa, focusing on maize and wheat yields. A two-way fixed effects panel regression model was used to assess the climate variability impacts, analysing secondary data for the period 2000 to 2019 for nine provinces in South Africa. The study found that increasing climate variability has a negative impact on maize and wheat production in South Africa. Specifically, the results indicated a negative correlation between mean annual temperature with both maize and wheat yields. A decrease in precipitation affected maize yields negatively, while the impact on wheat yields was positive, although insignificant. This analysis, therefore, depicted that crop yields generally increase with more annual precipitation and decrease with higher temperatures. The study recommends that funding initiatives to educate farmers on increasing climate variability and its effects on farming activities in South Africa should be prioritised.

This paper investigates the effects of a US economic policy uncertainty shock on Indian macroeconomic variables with a number of Structural VARs. This study models the economic policy uncertainty index as constructed by Baker et al. (2013). The study also uses a set of macroeconomic variables for India such as inflation, industrial production and nominal interest rate. The objective of the study is to identify the potential impacts of economic policy uncertainty shocks from the US economy to the Indian economy. According to the SVARs, a one standard deviation shock to the US economic policy uncertainty leads to a statistically significant decline in the Indian industrial production of -0.294% and in the Indian inflation of -0.032%. India shows to be resistant to US policy uncertainty. Furthermore, the study finds that the contribution of the US economic policy uncertainty on the Indian macroeconomic variables is shown to be significantly larger than the one exerted by the Indian uncertainty shock.

This paper investigates the effects of a US economic policy uncertainty shock on Indian macroeconomic variables with a number of Structural VARs. This study models the economic policy uncertainty index as constructed by Baker et al. (2013). The study also uses a set of macroeconomic variables for India such as inflation, industrial production and nominal interest rate. The objective of the study is to identify the potential impacts of economic policy uncertainty shocks from the US economy to the Indian economy. According to the SVARs, a one standard deviation shock to the US economic policy uncertainty leads to a statistically significant decline in the Indian industrial production of -0.294% and in the Indian inflation of -0.032%. India shows to be resistant to US policy uncertainty. Furthermore, the study finds that the contribution of the US economic policy uncertainty on the Indian macroeconomic variables is shown to be significantly larger than the one exerted by the Indian uncertainty shock.

This study examines the impact of short-term interest rates on bank funding costs in South Africa. Literature suggests that rising short-term interest rates may cause similar financial crises experienced in 2007/08 (Bonner & Eijffinger, 2013; Turner, 2013; Saraç & Karagoz, 2016). It is vital to study short-term interest rates and bank funding costs in order to achieve financial stability. The study uses quarterly time series data for the period 2000 to 2014. To estimate the regression, the study uses the Vector Autoregressive model (VAR) and the data is found stationary at first difference. The 3 months Johannesburg Interbank Agreed Rate (JIBAR) is used as a proxy for bank funding costs whilst the prime overdraft rate, 10-year government bonds and capital ratio are used as proxies for short-term, long-term interest rates and bank capital, respectively. The results show a positive and significant long-term relationship between the variables. The results for prime overdraft rate, 10-year government bonds and capital ratio conform to the apriori expectations. For GDP growth the results show a positive relationship which does not conform to apriori expectations. Using the variance decomposition, the study illustrates fluctuations in JIBAR was due to changes in its value and fluctuations in the prime rate are also due to JIBAR. The study presents policy options whereby regulatory efforts need to strengthen the capital buffers of banks to reduce bank funding costs and therefore reduce short-term interest rates imposed on borrowers.