Page 66 - DUT ICGA Abstract Book

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF ECONOMIC GROWTH IN SOUTH AFRICA
Shonisani Tshinakaho Mphinyana *1 Matthew Kofi Ocran2
*1 University University of of Mpumalanga 2
University University of of the Western Cape 3 Author Author Affiliation Affiliation 4 Author Author Affiliation Affiliation ( School of of of Development Development Studies Faculty of of of Economics Development Development and Business Sciences University of of of Mpumalanga South Africa:- Department of of of Economics Economics Faculty of of of Economic Economic Economic and Management Sciences School of of of Economics Economics University of the Western Cape South Africa)
*Corresponding Author: Shonisani Shonisani Mphinyana (Shonisani mphinyana@ump ac za )
Abstract
While economic growth has been extensively studied as as a a a a a separate subject from politics the interconnection between politics and economics remains a a a a a a controversial subject In recent period there has been a a a a a a renaissance of of of political economics as a a a a a a a a a a field of of of study and area of of of interest Political systems in in South Africa have have evolved over time from colony apartheid to democracy All these developments have have had outcomes on on on on on economic growth and the the economy as a a a a a a whole When the the African National Congress (ANC) took over over over government government in 1994 the the newly democratic government government had to address the the past imbalances while ensuring sustainable economic economic growth Several economic economic frameworks (RDP GEAR AsgiSA and NDP) have been been implemented over over the the years however the the economy has been been stagnant for over over a a a a a a a decade growing at a a a a a a a rate less than 3 percent Unemployment remains an an enigma In the the midst of these economic challenges the political has been volatile with ongoing corruption and maladministration allegations In addition state owned enterprises have been performing poorly due to governance challenges The objective of this paper is to to examine the the political economy of growth in in South Africa for the the period 1994 to to 2019 The study focus on on how different policies have influenced growth outcomes taking into account institutional variables The study uses the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and Toda-Yamamoto Granger causality test to examine the link between economic growth and political political variables The study finds that political political institutions are significant for for economic growth Therefore it it is important to strengthen good governance at at at a a a a a a a a a a a a a a political level The results of this study were limited by data data availability Had the data data been available a a a a a a clear view would be given by comparing pre-democracy economic performance with post-democracy economic performance taking into account institutional variables KEYWORDS: Economic growth political economy economic institutions ARDL 64 7th International Conference on on on Governance and Accountability (ICGA) 2022