俄罗斯紧盯南非战略资源

俄罗斯与南非自1992年建交以来,双方共签署了23个条约协议,涉及国防、科技、经贸及关税,社会及劳务问题等.1999年两国贸易额仅610万兰特(6.5兰特合1美元).自2002年11月南非承认俄罗斯的市场经济地位后,双边贸易额陡升,2003年达30亿兰特;2003年的矿物贸易额比2002年增长40%,达到2亿美元.近期俄罗斯加紧对南非的外交努力,尤其是对矿业资本和战略金属的控制,值得关注.     

Remittance Behaviour of Forced Migrants in Post-Apartheid South Africa

This paper looks at the determinants of South-South remittances. An original dataset of African migrants living in Johannesburg is used. As South Africa attracts both economic and forced migrants, we focus on the impact of the reason of emigration (violence versus economic concerns) on migrants’ remittance behaviour. On the extensive margin, the results show that leaving a home country for reasons of violence decreases the probability of remitting to the home country. On the intensive margin, transferred amounts do not differ according to whether the migrant was forced to migrate or not. When the migrant has decided to remit, it is more his/her current conditions in the host country and traditional factors (income, education, sex, etc.) that determine the amounts transferred. Our results are robust when restricting the definition of forced migration.     

Wage Subsidy and Labour Market Flexibility in South Africa

Abstract

We use a general equilibrium model to analyse the employment effects and fiscal cost of a wage subsidy in South Africa. We capture the structural characteristics of the labour market with several labour categories and substitution possibilities, linking the economy-wide results to a micro-simulation model with occupational choice probabilities to investigate the poverty and distributional consequences. The employment impact depends greatly on the elasticities of substitution of factors of production, being very minimal if unskilled and skilled labour are complements in production. The impact is improved by supporting policies, but the gains remain modest if the labour market is rigid.     

The Impact of Rural-Urban Migration on Subjective Well-Being in South Africa

This paper quantifies the short to medium term impact of rural-urban migration on an individual’s subjective well-being in South Africa between 2008 and 2012. We work through different econometric specifications; using instrumental variables to control for endogeneity caused by shock-induced self-selection, and Propensity Score Matching to control for migration self-selection bias. We find that rural-urban migration leads to a decrease in subjective well-being by 8.3 per cent. We suspect that the decreased well-being is a result of false expectations and changing relative groups used to peg aspirations, as well as the emotional cost of being away from family and a home environment.