https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/30857 2026-05-05T15:11:45Z 2026-05-05T15:11:45Z Mwale, Evaristo William David https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32131 2025-02-21T14:35:47Z 2024-04-01T00:00:00Z

The nexus of taxation and economic growth, income inequality and poverty : a macro and micro econometric approach for Zambia Mwale, Evaristo William David Sub-Saharan Africa faces a significant challenge in mobilising tax revenue to finance essential state functions, as many economies in the region fall below the minimum desirable tax-to-GDP ratio of 15%. Despite Zambia's relatively higher tax-to-GDP ratio compared to that of other regions, poverty and income inequality levels remain stubbornly high. This research study addresses this issue by examining the relationships between taxation, economic growth, poverty, and income inequality in Zambia. The study's objectives include investigating the short-term and long-term connections between taxation and economic growth, exploring the direction of causality, and analysing the influence of direct and indirect taxes on poverty and income inequality. Additionally, the study aims to construct a tax revenue forecasting model for Zambia and offer policy recommendations. To achieve these objectives, the researcher employed a combination of macroeconometric and microsimulation models, including vector error-correction models (VECMs), autoregressive distributed lag models (ARDLs), bunching techniques, and MicroZAMOD. This study makes several significant contributions to the literature by utilising a combination of macroeconometric and microsimulation models, incorporating mining sector revenues in the analysis, and providing revenue projections for Zambia. In addition, the study computes poverty and inequality multipliers for every additional 1 billion Kwacha in tax revenue. To unearth the effect of taxation and its redistributive effect on poverty and inequality, this study uses the MicroZAMOD. Furthermore, the study uses the Personal Income Tax (PIT) elasticities from bunching techniques to convert the MicroZAMOD from a static model to a dynamic model. The results reveal that there is evidence of bunching around the first bracket in the PIT. Key findings underscore PIT as a potent instrument for reducing inequality, while the value added tax (VAT) emerges as a significant revenue generator but is inefficient at reducing poverty. Excise taxes and the turnover tax (TOT) have marginal effects on poverty and inequality metrics. Notably, VAT is associated with a 0.45 percentage point increase in the national poverty rate for every billion Kwacha raised, while a 1 billion Kwacha of PIT revenue is associated with an average reduction of 0.68 percentage points in the Gini coefficient. Granger causality analysis suggests that PIT, the corporate income tax (CIT), VAT, changes in the copper price, and mining tax revenue have causal relationships with gross domestic product. (GDP), indicating that lagged values of these variables enhance the model's ability to predict GDP. Additionally, impulse response function and variance decomposition analysis reveal the impact of shocks in these variables on GDP, with VAT notably contributing to GDP growth over time, while negative shocks in mining tax revenue consistently result in GDP decline. In the short run, corporate income tax and personal income tax negatively impact GDP growth, while value-added tax (VAT) and trade openness have positive effects. Conversely, mining tax revenue and government consumption show no significant short-term impact on GDP growth. Long-term analysis reveals that VAT, mining tax revenue, trade openness, and the exchange rate positively influence GDP growth, whereas personal income tax and oil price changes exhibit negative impacts This will be the first study to use these two approaches to model policy impacts in a developing country. Furthermore, this study offers essential insights for policymakers in Zambia and other developing countries by emphasising the importance of balanced taxation policies and targeted investments in key sectors for sustainable development and poverty reduction through the recommendation of empirical policy reform scenarios.

2024-04-01T00:00:00Z Thobejane, Kgaogelo Ignatius https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/31961 2024-11-28T09:31:09Z 2024-08-05T00:00:00Z

Physiology, yield, and nutritional contribution of Indian Hemp (Cannabis sativa L) grown under different fertilizer types and environment Thobejane, Kgaogelo Ignatius The first three Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 1, 2 and 3) set by the United Nations focus on ending poverty, promoting good agriculture to eradicate malnutrition, and ensuring good health and well-being, respectively. Humans have traditionally used Cannabis sativa L. for a variety of uses, including medicine and as a raw ingredient for goods with added value including drinks, cakes, cookies, and oil. In 2020, the Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled that laws prohibiting cultivation and consumption of Cannabis in private were unconstitutional. In addition, the South African government suggested that the country's Cannabis production, including its cultivation, processing, and commercialization, could provide billions in revenue annually, and could lead to about 10 000 to 25 000 employment opportunities in the industry. The legalisation of Cannabis has generated interest in Cannabis farming, which has associated challenges regarding the production of high-quality plant material because currently there is insufficient scientifically validated cultivation protocols, particularly in respect to the South African climate. Thus, the goals of the study were to find out how different fertilizer types and growing conditions (in the open or under shade netting) affected the yield and biochemical components of Cannabis sativa L. in order to help growers produce high-quality Cannabis sativa crops for commercialisation. Fresh and freeze-dried plant Cannabis bud samples were used to measure yield and biochemical constituents. Treatment combinations of plant growth under shade netting and the addition of chemical fertilizer resulted in superior Cannabis bud water content (40.2 g) and total phenols (14.7 GAE/100 g DW) compared to other treatments. Therefore, growers should consider the shade netting and chemical fertilizer combination for yield and quality maximisation; Maikemisetso a Mokgatlo wa Dinagakopano tsa Lefase go Leano la Tlhabollo la go ya go ile (SDG 1, 2 le 3) ke go fedisa bodidi, phepompe le go kaonafatsa tsa maphelo le boiketlo. Go tloga kgale batho ba somisa Cannabis sativa L. (Patse) bjalo ka sehlare, go dira dino, dikhekhe, dikuku le makhura. Ka 2020 Kgorotsheko ya Molaotheo ya Afrika Borwa e file kahlolo ya gore ga go molaong go thibela tshomiso ya phoraebete ya cannabis. Go tlaleletsa se, mmuso wa Afrika Borwa o laeditse gore go tsweletsa Cannabis ka nageng, go akaretswa go e bjala, tshomiso le thekiso ya yona go ka tsentsha letseno la dibilione ngwaga ka ngwaga, gomme se se ka hlola mesomo ye e balelwago go 10 000 go fihla go 25 000 ka intastering. Se se hlotse kgahlego ye kgolo go bolemi le tsweletso ya Cannabis. Nyakisiso ye e utullotse gore go hloka mokgwa wo o netefaditswego wa saense wa go bjala Cannabis go amile khwalithi ya dibjalo tseo di tsweleditswego ka lebaka la maemo a boso ka Afrika Borwa. Maikemisetso a nyakisiso ke go sekaseka ka moo mehuta ye e fapanego ya menontsha e ka somiswago le dikarolwana tsa payokhemikhale go Cannabis sativa mafelong a go fapana (mo go nago le nete le mo go se nago nete), go thusa balemi go tsweletsa dibjalwa tsa Cannabis sativa tsa khwalithi ya godimo tseo di ka rekiswago. Nyakisiso e somisitse disampole tse di omisitswego le tse tala go lekanyetsa puno le dikarolwana tsa payokhemikhale. Dikutullo tsa nyakisiso di laeditse gore mo go somisitswego nete le monontsha wa dikhemikhale go hlogile mahlogedi a go ba le monola kudu (40.2g) le difenolo (14.7 GAE/100g DW) ge di bapetswa le mekgwa ye mengwe. Ka gona, nyakisiso e fa tshisinyo ya gore balemi ba somise nete le monontsha wa dikhemikhale go tsweletsa dibjalo tsa khwalithi ka bontsi; Ku hava vusweti, ku herisiwa ka ku pfumaleka ka swakudya, rihanyu lerinene na vuhlayiseki i swin'wana swa swikongomelokulu leswi vekiweke hi Nhlangano wa Matiko hi ku tirhisa Swikongomelo swa wona swa Nhluvukiso wa Nkarhi Woleha (SDG 1, 2 na 3). Vanhu hi ndzhavuko a va tirhisa Cannabis sativa L. eka mitirhiso yo hambanahambana, ku katsa tanihi murhi na tanihi xichelana ximbisi eka nhundzu leyi nga na nkoka lowu engetelekeke ku katsa swo nwa, makhekhe, makukisi, na oyili. Hi 2020, Khoto ya Vumbiwa yi bohile leswaku milawu leyi yirisaka ku byala na ku tirhisiwa ka khanabisi exihundleni a yi lwisana na vumbiwa. Hi ku tlhandlekela, mfumo wa Afrika Dzonga wu tlhele wu kumbetela leswaku vuhumelerisi bya khanabisi bya tiko , ku katsa ku byariwa ka yona, ku purosesiwa, na ku xavisiwa swi nga nyika mabiliyoni ya mali leyi nghenaka lembe na lembe, naswona swi nga yisa eka kwolomu ka swivandlanene swa mitirho yo ringana 10 000 ku ya fika eka 25 000 eka vumaki. Leswi swi endlile leswaku ku va na ku tsakela swinene eka ku rima khanabisi, leswi vangeke mitlhontlho eka ku humesa matheriyali ya xiyimo xa le henhla ya swimilana hikuva sweswi ku hava milawu yo byala leyi ringaneleke leyi tiyisisiweke hi sayense, ngopfungopfu ehansi ka tlimeti ya Afrika Dzonga. Hikwalaho, xikongomelo xa dyondzo a ku ri ku lavisisa mbuyelo lowu hlanganisiweke wa tinxaka to hambana ta manyoro, swiphemu swa bayokhemikali swa khanabisi sativa ehansi ka tindhawu to hambanahambana to byala (nete ya ndzhuti na ndhawu leyi pfulekeke), leswaku nxopanxopo wo fananisa wu ta kota ku endliwa ku pfuna vabyari ku humesa swimila swa xiyimo xa le henhla swa Khanabisi sativa hi xikongomelo xo xavisa. Tisampulu ta furexe na leti omisiweke hi ku firiziwa ti tirhisiwile ku pima mbuyelo xikan'we na swiphemu swa bayokhemikali. Nhlanganiso wa maendlelo ya nete wa ndzhuti na manyoro lama nga na tikhemikali wu endlile leswaku ku va na mati ya le henhla ya ximila (40.2g) na nhlayo ya tifenolo (14.7 GAE/100g DW) loko ku fananisiwa na maendlelo man'wana. Hikwalaho, vabyari va fanele va tekela enhlokweni nhlangano wo endla ndzhuti/wo sirhelela na manyoro ya khemikali ku kuma mbuyelo na ku kurisa khwaliti Abstracts in English, Northern Sotho and Tsonga

2024-08-05T00:00:00Z Mtolo, Zimvo https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/31862 2024-10-28T10:42:11Z 2024-09-01T00:00:00Z

Empirical investigation of the effects of trade openness on poverty in South Africa and Lesotho Mtolo, Zimvo The study examined the impact of trade openness on poverty in South Africa and Lesotho separately. The study used the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach with annual data from 1980 to 2019. The study used the consumption-based measure of poverty, measured by consumption expenditure as a target variable of investigation. The study further employed three measures of trade openness, which are sum of trade to GDP, the ratio of exports to GDP, and imports to GDP ratio. The use of three proxies of trade openness allowed the study to check the robustness of the results and to examine the individual effects of exports and imports on poverty. As a contribution to existing literature, the study included a dummy variable for Lesotho to capture the effect of the structural break that occurred from 1990 resulting from retrenchments of Lesotho nationals from South African mines. The overarching aim of the study is to contribute to the ongoing literature on the extent in which trade openness impacts poverty in South Africa and Lesotho, which are members of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). The pursuit of the present study, among other things, is motivated by SACU’s mandate highlighting the need to foster sustainable economic growth and development among member countries. Such a mandate is underpinned by a focus on generating employment opportunities and alleviating poverty in the SACU area. The study provides a comparison of how the impact of trade openness on poverty differs between South Africa which is an upper-middle income country and Lesotho which is a lower middle-income country. The comparison also considers if the results differ with different proxies of trade openness. The results show that for South Africa, in the long run and short run, trade openness does not lead to poverty reduction, irrespective of the proxy used to measure trade openness. Instead, in the long run, trade openness, proxied by the sum of trade to GDP and the ratio of imports to GDP, has a negative effect on poverty. In the short run, the sum of trade/GDP and exports/GDP are both insignificant to poverty while imports/GDP have a negative impact on poverty. For Lesotho, in the long run, sum of trade/GDP is insignificant to poverty while exports/GDP and imports/GDP have a positive effect on poverty. In the short run, the sum of trade/GDP has a positive impact on poverty, exports/GDP have a negative effect on poverty while imports/GDP are insignificant to poverty. The coefficient of the dummy variable is negative and significant in the short run, confirming the evidence of a structural break. These results suggest that policies adopted in South Africa have not brought significant poverty alleviation. This could be an indication of a situation where policies implemented over the past tend to prevent the poor from benefiting from the gains of trade openness. Based on the findings, the main recommendation for South Africa is that policymakers could review the policies in place and understand the unintended consequences of each policy on poverty reduction. Policymakers in Lesotho could ensure that they adopt policies that benefit the poor directly. If well implemented, such policies could provide relief that will protect the poor from short term adjustment costs arising from trade openness. In view of the overall findings, the current study, therefore, recommends that there be a critical review of policies to assess unintended consequences of trade openness that may lead to increased poverty and ensure alignment of policies to overall poverty reduction objectives. In this context, the study recommends that the mechanism of distributing gains from trade be reviewed to ensure that gains from trade openness, such that the returns from trade, including funds from SACU revenue, are invested towards poverty reduction

2024-09-01T00:00:00Z Tsegazeab Bezabih Woldeyohannes https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/31577 2024-08-31T18:31:44Z 2024-04-01T00:00:00Z

The nutrition transition in urban Ethiopia during rapid economic growth (2000-2016) Tsegazeab Bezabih Woldeyohannes This study sought to examine the patterns and drivers of the nutrition transition in urban Ethiopia between 2000 and 2016, which coincided with a period of rapid economic expansion and urbanisation. A mixed-methods research approach combined quantitative data from nationally representative, repeated, cross-sectional surveys with qualitative data gathered through focus-group discussions. It revealed that during the last two decades, urban Ethiopia has been through a nuanced nutrition transition. The transition is underpinned by factors, such as a demographic transition (the composition of the population in terms of age, gender, household size, marital status, and level of education), an economic transition (income, real price, and affordability of food), an epidemiologic transition (perceived causes and consequences of diseases), food-market changes (government subsidy and supply), and an agricultural transformation. The past two decades saw the double burden of malnutrition (with decreasing levels of undernutrition) and growing levels of overnutrition. Despite the overall average calories derived from cereals increasing, their share in total consumption plummeted because of the rapid increase in the contribution of other food categories. The consumption of pulses remained stable, but the share of dietary energy derived from fats and oils continued to rise, replacing the share of starchy staples. The increased consumption of refined cereals and vegetable oil is a feature of the nutrition transition in urban Ethiopia. The gradual but steady increase in the adaptation of "Western diets" largely applies to higher-income groups and the younger generation. This impending nutrition transition, although at an early stage still, has ramifications for nutrition and food security, environmental, social, and economic sustainability, food sovereignty, and public health. Policy interventions are recommended to delay or reverse the detrimental course and to address the exigencies associated with a nutrition transition.; Hierdie studie het die patrone en aandrywers van die voedingsoorgang in stedelike Ethiopië tussen 2000 en 2016 ondersoek, wat met ’n tydperk van vinnige ekonomiese uitbreiding en verstedeliking saamgeval het. ’n gemengdemetode-navorsingsbenadering, bestaande uit kwantitatiewe data uit nasionale verteenwoordigende, herhaalde deursneeondersoeke en kwalitatiewe data uit fokusgroepbesprekings is gevolg Dit het aan die lig gebring dat stedelike Ethiopië die afgelope twee dekades ’n genuanseerde voedingsoorgang beleef het. Die oorgang is ondersteun deur faktore soos demografiese oorgang (die samestelling van die bevolking ten opsigte van ouderdom, geslag, die grootte van huishoudings, huwelikstatus en vlak van opvoeding), ekonomiese oorgang (inkomste, werklike pryse en die bekostigbaarheid van kos), epidemiologiese oorgang (waargenome oorsake en gevolge van siektes), voedsel-markveranderinge (staatsubsidie en voorsiening), en landboutransformasie. Gedurende die afgelope twee dekades is die dubbele las van wanvoeding (met dalende vlakke van ondervoeding) en toenemende vlakke van oorvoeding waargeneem. Al het die algehele gemiddelde kalorieë afkomstig van graan toegeneem, het hulle aandeel aan totale verbruik skerp gedaal as gevolg van die vinnige toename in die bydrae wat ander voedselkategorieë gelewer het. Die verbruik van peulvrugte het stabiel gebly maar die gedeelte van energie verkry uit dieet afkomstig van vette en olies het aanhou styg en styselstapelvoedsel se gedeelte vervang. Die toenemende verbruik van verfynde graan en plantaardige olie is ’n kenmerk van die voedingsoorgang in stedelike Ethiopië. Die geleidelike maar bestendige neiging om “Westerse diëte” aan te neem, word hoofsaaklik by hoër inkomstegroepe en die jonger generasie opgemerk. Hoewel hierdie naderende voedingsoorgang in ’n vroeë stadium is, kan dit gevolge vir voeding en voedselsekuriteit, omgewings-, maatskaplike en ekonomiese volhoubaarheid, voedselsoewereiniteit en openbare gesondheid hê. Beleidsingrypings word aanbeveel om die nadelige verloop van sake te vertraag of om te keer, en aandag moet aan die eise wat met ’n voedingsoorgang geassosieer word, gegee word. Summaries in English, Tshivenda and Afrikaans

2024-04-01T00:00:00Z