Service Industry

Translating Sectoral Growth into Job Creation: A View of South Africa’s Tourism Industry

by LOWITT, S, 2007
Research Report, Employment Growth & Development Initiative, Human Sciences Research Council

Tourism has been identified as a priority job creation sector. Lowitt tests the realism of policymakers’ expectations for the sector. It focuses on three key areas: understanding demand; understanding how demand is translated into job creation; and understanding how the sector interacts with the broader economy through linkages with other sectors, output multipliers, employment multipliers…

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The Job-Creating Potential of the Metered Taxi Industry in South Africa’s Urban Areas: Some Preliminary Findings

by LOWITT, S, 2006
Research Report, Employment Growth & Development Initiative, Human Sciences Research Council

One of the aims of the Human Sciences Research Council’s Employment Growth and Development Initiative is to analyse economic diversification and identify potential future growth sectors, based on their growth potential and labour absorption capacity. One possible candidate is considered here – the metered taxi sector, which fits both these criteria well. This proposal provides…

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Business process outsourcing in identified financial services sub-sectors: the potential for offshore business flows into South Africa and consequent recommendations for targeted government support

by VAN DER HEIJDEN, T., 2005
Research Report, Employment Growth & Development Initiative, Human Sciences Research Council

“Business process outsourcing (BPO) has been identified to have enormous potential to support economic growth and employment in South Africa. It has been the subject of much attention, research and debate, by various levels of government. However, to date the focus has narrowed to contact centres, and, for various reasons, BPO is increasingly seen as…

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A Review of Trade in Services

by ALTMAN, M., VAN DER HEIJDEN, T., MAYER, M. & LEWIS, G., 2005
Research Report, Employment Growth & Development Initiative, Human Sciences Research Council

The flow of trade in services is notoriously hard to measure, which makes it difficult to identify its role in driving the growth and competitiveness of the economy. This report reviews the official data on South Africa’s trade in services and compares it to other sources of information to assess the extent to which the…

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Leveraging Services for Employment, Growth and Equity: Trade in Services: The Global Context

by MAYER, M.J., 2005
Research Report, Employment Growth & Development Initiative, Human Sciences Research Council

Mayer provides a broad overview of global trends in trade in services. The survey of the magnitude and patterns of trade in services, together with an analysis of the drivers of such trade, provides a context for assessing South Africa’s current performance and future prospects in this area. In contrast to goods, the vast majority…

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Leveraging Services for Employment, Growth and Equity: An Analysis of South Africa’s Trade in Services Data

by LEWIS, G., 2009
Research Report, Employment Growth & Development Initiative, Human Sciences Research Council

Accurate data on trade in services is necessary to inform industrial policy in the services sectors and to shape negotiating strategy at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Due to the inherent difficulty of measuring trade in services, however, there had until recently been little effort to provide a coherent conceptual framework for such trade activities….

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Leveraging Services for Employment, Growth and Equity: Stakeholder Mapping

by HEESE, K., 2005
Research report prepared for the Director Generals’ Economic and Employment, and Social Clusters, Government of South Africa, Pretoria.

Heese provides a framework for Government to engage with stakeholders in service industries in South Africa. To this end, she maps each of the sub-sectors in terms of the classification of the services sector utilised in this process. The purpose of the maps is twofold. The first is to graphically outline the key stakeholders in…

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Leveraging Services for Growth, Employment and Equity: Services Trade Reform in the South African Economy: What Does it Mean for Growth and Welfare?

by CASSIM, R. , 2009
Research Report, Employment Growth & Development Initiative, Human Sciences Research Council

Cassim reviews the theoretical literature on the impact of services trade liberalisation on efficiency, welfare and growth. The objective is to assess its implications for services trade reform in the South African context. In view of data limitations, this paper draws insights from the theoretical and international literature and assesses its relevance to South Africa….

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A Review of Services Regulation in South Africa

by MAYER, M.J. & ONYANGO, D. , 2008
Research Report, Employment Growth & Development Initiative, Human Sciences Research Council

Domestic regulation is central to trade in services, increasing the competitiveness of services sub-sectors, and achieving social aims. It can both be a barrier to trade and a policy instrument for addressing market failure in the form of monopoly, asymmetric information and externalities. Regulation also plays a pivotal role in ensuring that the poor are…

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