Narrow Your Choices

Refine By Countries

Refine By Series

Refine By Language

Refine By Date

—

Refine By IMF Taxonomy

Refine By JEL Taxonomy

Refine by LOC Taxonomy

Refine By THEMA Taxonomy

  • Print
  • Save

Business and Economics > Production and Operations Management

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 71 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
  • South Africa x
Clear All Modify Search
Cover World Economic Outlook, April 2024
World Economic Outlook, April 2024
Steady but Slow: Resilience amid Divergence
International Monetary Fund. Research Dept.

Abstract

The latest World Economic Outlook reports economic activity was surprisingly resilient through the global disinflation of 2022–23, despite significant central bank interest rate hikes to restore price stability. Risks to the global outlook are now broadly balanced compared with last year. Monetary policy should ensure that inflation touches down smoothly, while a renewed focus on fiscal consolidation is needed to rebuild room for budgetary maneuver and to ensure debt sustainability. Structural reforms are crucial to revive medium-term growth prospects amid constrained policy space.

Keywords:
global growth; inflation; economic projection; monetary policy; housing markets; medium-term growth; spillovers; advanced economy; monetary policy transmission; housing channel; housing market characteristic; economy-sector pair; middle-income economy; IMF staff calculation; Emerging and frontier financial markets; Housing prices; Mortgages; Total factor productivity; Global; Caribbean; Middle East and Central Asia; Europe; Central America; inflation expectation; interest rate hike; debt restructuring processes; commodity market development; Sub-Saharan Africa
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Kingdom of Lesotho: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This Selected Issues paper focuses on decomposing the public-private sector wage differential in Lesotho. Lesotho’s public wage bill is significantly higher than in other countries in the region. This paper takes a closer look at the civil service wage bill and examines public sector wage premium. It provides an overview of public sector employment and compensation, estimates, explores drivers of the wage premium between the public and private sectors, and conducts a decomposition of the public-private wage gap. The upward inertia in the public wage bill has been gradually crowding out all other government spending. Containing the wage bill is essential to ensure fiscal sustainability and improve income distribution. The upward inertia in the public wage bill has been gradually crowding out all other government spending. Containing the wage bill is essential to ensure fiscal sustainability and improve income distribution. Public sector employment should be reduced and managed using a combination of essential hiring, natural attrition, and staff redeployment.
Keywords:
wage distribution; wage premium; D. policy implication; private sector development; wage bill; Wages; Public sector wages; Government wage bill; Public sector; Civil service; Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa; Southern Africa; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
The Macroeconomic Impacts of Digitalization in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Submarine Cables
Felix F. Simione
and
Yiruo Li
The Macroeconomic Impacts of Digitalization in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Submarine Cables
Keywords:
internet penetration; growth effect; macroeconomic impacts of digitalization; arrival IV; employment share; productivity database; Employment; Productivity; Digitalization; Estimation techniques; Labor productivity; Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Competition, Competitiveness and Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa
Reda Cherif
,
Sandesh Dhungana
,
Xiangming Fang
,
Mr. Jesus R Gonzalez-Garcia
,
Yuanchen Yang
,
Mustafa Yenice
, and
Jung Eun Yoon
Does greater product market competition improve external competitiveness and growth? This paper examines this question by using country-and firm-level data for a sample of 39 sub-Saharan African countries over 2000–17, as well as other emerging market economies and developing countries, and finds that an improvement in domestic competition is associated with a signficant increase in real GDP per capita growth rate, achieved mainly through an improvement in export competitiveness and productivity growth. Price levels, including of essential items, are also generally lowered with an increase in competition. Moreover, at the firm-level, evidence shows that greater competition—proxied through a decline in corporate market power—is associated with an increase in firm’s investment and the labor’s share in output. These effects are more pronounced in the manufacturing sector and among domestic firms compared to foreign firms.
Keywords:
WP; competition indicator; firm profitability; firm markup; cost minimization problem; firm Dynamics; firm-level indicators; enterprise data; Competition; Emerging and frontier financial markets; Commodity markets; Productivity; Labor share; Sub-Saharan Africa; Global; Africa; Markups; Market Power
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
South Africa: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This Selected Issues paper studies the growth-inflation trade-off of monetary policy in South Africa. The combination of low growth and stubbornly high inflation expectations for a protracted period has complicated monetary policy decisions. The IMF staff analysis contributes to the ongoing growth-inflation trade-off discussion in South Africa, concluding that there is limited growth trade-off of monetary policy efforts to anchor inflation expectations at a lower level at present. The findings in this note suggest that the South African Reserve Bank should continue its efforts of anchoring inflation and inflation expectations at a lower level because monetary policy lends limited support to growth dampened by structural issues. During the 2010s, domestic demand growth responded little to monetary policy action. The environment of weak growth, low interest rates, and relatively moderate inflation (expectations) could have muted monetary policy transmission. Ultimately, the constraints to economic growth need to be removed. Meanwhile, inflation expectations continue to respond to monetary policy action albeit to a lesser extent. Monetary policy transmission through demand has weakened––demand growth does not systematically respond to monetary policy action nor does core inflation––but the exchange rate and credibility channels appear to remain operational.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; rand volatility; inflation expectation; monetary policy; rand; growth-inflation tradeoff; monetary policy action; demand growth; administered price inflation; Private investment; Inflation; Depreciation; Currencies; Total factor productivity; Africa; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Exchange Rate Volatility and Pass-Through to Inflation in South Africa
Mr. Ken Miyajima
Does the South African rand’s relatively large volatility affect inflation? To shed some light on this question, a standard estimation technique of exchange rate pass-through to inflation is extended to incorporate exchange rate volatility. Estimated results suggest that higher exchange rate volatility tends to increase core inflation but to a relatively limited extent in South Africa. The finding lends support to the policy of allowing the rand to float freely and work as a shock absorber, consistent with the nation’s successful inflation targeting regime.
Keywords:
WP; core inflation; exchange rate volatility; price; Exchange rate pass-through; inflation; NEER depreciation; food price inflation; rand volatility; ERPT terms; exchange rate variable; volatility data; fuel price inflation; Exchange rates; Depreciation; Output gap; Africa; Global
Cover World Economic Outlook, October 2019
World Economic Outlook, October 2019
Global Manufacturing Downturn, Rising Trade Barriers
International Monetary Fund. Research Dept.

Abstract

Global growth is forecast at 3.0 percent for 2019, its lowest level since 2008–09 and a 0.3 percentage point downgrade from the April 2019 World Economic Outlook.

Keywords:
WEO; emerging market; fiscal policy; economy
Cover World Economic Outlook, October 2019
World Economic Outlook, October 2019
Global Manufacturing Downturn, Rising Trade Barriers
International Monetary Fund. Research Dept.

Abstract

Global growth is forecast at 3.0 percent for 2019, its lowest level since 2008–09 and a 0.3 percentage point downgrade from the April 2019 World Economic Outlook.

Keywords:
WEO; emerging market; fiscal policy; economy
Cover World Economic Outlook, October 2019
World Economic Outlook, October 2019
Global Manufacturing Downturn, Rising Trade Barriers
International Monetary Fund. Research Dept.

Abstract

Global growth is forecast at 3.0 percent for 2019, its lowest level since 2008–09 and a 0.3 percentage point downgrade from the April 2019 World Economic Outlook.

Keywords:
WEO; emerging market; fiscal policy; economy
Cover World Economic Outlook, October 2019
World Economic Outlook, October 2019
Global Manufacturing Downturn, Rising Trade Barriers
International Monetary Fund. Research Dept.

Abstract

Global growth is forecast at 3.0 percent for 2019, its lowest level since 2008–09 and a 0.3 percentage point downgrade from the April 2019 World Economic Outlook.

Keywords:
WEO; emerging market; fiscal policy; economy