comparative advantage

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

Business process outsourcing (BPO) has enormous potential to support economic growth and employment in South Africa. So far, the focus in SA has mainly been on contact centres, where South Africa does not enjoy a comparative advantage. Competitive advantage is more likely to be found in back-office BPO: this paper specifically looks at potential opportunity…

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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

“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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Growth, Employment and Distribution Impacts of Minerals Dependency: Four Case Studies

Cross-country evidence on the direct and indirect impacts of minerals dependency on growth suggests that the typical effect may be negative. The impact on employment and income distribution is even more likely to be adverse, since many minerals generate few jobs directly and may destroy more indirectly. Thus, countries heavily endowed with exportable natural resources…

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