The neoclassical and Keynesian theories regard private investment not only as a source of economic growth but also as a determinant of the potential extent of the national income. The aim of this research was to examine the determinants of private fixed investment in South Africa by employing the Johansen cointegration technique and the vector error correction model (VECM) analysis. Based on the literature survey it appears that the previous studies mainly focused on private investment in manufacturing and infrastructure sectors therefore this is envisaged to add knowledge to a body of economics literature in this area by focusing more on private fixed investment and its determinants in South Africa. The study concludes that for the period under investigation GDP has the positive sign as expected. This suggests that in the long run it impact positively on private fixed investment. The findings of the study also confirmed that tax rate is a complementary to private fixed investment. Similarly, the real exchange rate coefficient was negative as expected which suggests that the depreciation of the currency stimulates the growth of South Africa private fixed investment. It is obvious that even the best economic model cannot achieve the expected outcomes immediately but these results encourage the study to believe that the South African monetary policy on exchange rate complements private fixed investment. Therefore, the study proposes that both even though both growth and general tax rate are difficult to accomplish simultaneously, they should be used to promote the flow of private fixed investment in South Africa.

This study investigates the influence of exchange rate (nominal and real effective) fluctuations on tourism demand in South Africa between 1994 and 2023. The study employed the Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) model to analyse how currency appreciation and depreciation affect the influx of international tourists in South Africa. The results show that when the South African Rand weakens (depreciates), it attracts more tourists, while a stronger Rand (appreciation) slightly reduces tourist arrivals in South Africa. Furthermore, the study shows that interest rates positively affect tourism demand, highlighting the importance of a stable economy for tourism growth. This research contributes to understanding the link between exchange rates and tourism by showing how economic factors influence destination appeal. It offers practical advice for policymakers, such as using weaker currency periods to promote affordable tourism and countering strong currency effects with targeted marketing. The study shows that attracting tourists from many different countries and improving infrastructure can help reduce the impact of exchange rate changes. These ideas can help developing countries create better plans to grow their tourism industry. This study is among the limited number of studies exploring the asymmetric impacts of nominal and real effective exchange rates on tourism demand. Notably, it is the first to apply the non-linear ARDL approach to investigate the impacts of both nominal and real effective exchange rates on tourism demand within the South African context.

Exchange rate fluctuations are an important factor in shaping the quality of macroeconomic stability and growth in emerging nations. Understanding the asymmetric effects of exchange rates is important to properly frame policy in BRICS settings. This study's primary goal is to investigate the asymmetric effects of exchange rates on economic growth in the BRICS countries from 1994 to 2024. The study used the Non-linear Panel ARDL (NPARDL) model and it revealed significant asymmetries: appreciation of the domestic currency (negative exchange rate shocks) is positively and significantly associated with GDP, with a coefficient of 0.158%, whereas depreciation (positive shocks) decreases GDP by 0.583% for every 1% fall in the local currency. Long-run results also indicate that inflation and trade have a positive influence on economic growth. Interest rates on the other hand, continue to wield strong short- and long-run deleterious effects on growth. Secondly, this study confirms an equilibrium long-run relationship among the variables, as evidenced by the short-run component results, which show a negative and statistically meaningful error correction term at the 5% level. The coefficient reflects a quite low adjustment rate, with the present time course redressing about 19.4% of the disequilibrium caused by the shock of the previous phase. This study recommends that BRICS policymakers pursue exchange rate stability, enhance trade, and adopt balanced monetary policies that avoid prolonged periods of high interest rates. In order to increase shock adaptation and ensure sustained growth, structural reforms and institutional reforms are also necessary.

The study investigates the asymmetric impact of exchange rate dynamics and financial development on export growth in South Africa. This study employs annual time-series data from 1994 to 2024 and the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) technique to determine the impacts of positive and negative shocks of the exchange rate and financial development on export growth. The cointegration test results provided evidence of an asymmetric long-run relationship. The findings show that exchange rate movements have a significant, but asymmetric, effect on exports in that currency appreciation reduces export growth, while depreciation enhances it, consistent with standard trade theory. In contrast, total credit to the private sector does not exhibit a statistically significant influence on exports in either direction, suggesting inefficiencies in financial intermediation and limited credit transmission to export-oriented sectors in the long run. However, bank deposits emerge as a key driver of export performance: positive changes significantly promote exports, while declines in deposits adversely affect export growth, confirming the presence of financial asymmetry. These findings suggest that the South African export growth requires a stable exchange rate, efficient credit allocation, and a coordinated industrial policy to support export-oriented industries and enhance the country’s global trade competitiveness.