These working papers are part of workstream 6 on Regional Growth and Development within the Southern Africa – Towards Inclusive Economic Development (SA-TIED) project, a three-year partnership between UNU-WIDER and the South African government aimed at improving understanding of regional value chains and supporting industrialisation in the SADC region. In year one of the project TIPS produced five papers: lessons from ASEAN; an analysis of local content requirements as a non-tariff barrier; and reviews of three value chains: agro-processing machinery, motorcycle parts and the aftermarket industry, and capital equipment for copper processing.

• Black cat, white cat – lessons to be learnt from ASEAN
  https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp-2019-26.pdf
  
  
• Charity begins at home – the political economy of non-tariff barriers to trade in Southern Africa
  https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp-2019-61.pdf
  
  
• Motorcycle parts and aftermarket industry regional value chain in Southern Africa
  https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp-2019-38.pdf
  
  
• Assessment of demand in agro-processing machinery in the SADC region: A case study of the maize-milling machinery value chain in South Africa and Zambia
  https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp-2019-70.pdf
  
  
• Moving up the copper value chain in Southern Africa
  https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp-2019-52.pdf
  
  
• Initial considerations for the creation of an inter-regional industrial hemp value chain between Malawi and South Africa
  https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp2020-23.pdf
  
  
• Future-proofing the plastics value chain in Southern Africa
  https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp2020-148.pdf
  
  
• The COVID-19 pandemic and the economy in Southern Africa
  https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp2021-113.pdf
• Learning from experience: Special Economic Zones in Southern Africa
  https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp2021-124.pdf

The Manufacturing Circle Investment Tracker was a quarterly index tracking investment spending in the manufacturing sector. It measured investment by manufacturing enterprises in property, plant and equipment, research and development, and human capital. 

TIPS and the Manufacturing Circle collaborated on seminars to share insights from the quarterly survey results, inform policy strategies and facilitate a collaborative policy development process.

Brochure: Manufacturing Circle Investment Tracker

Manufacturing Circle Investment Tracker Q3 2018 - Summary Findings and Outlook

Manufacturing Circle Investment Tracker Q2 2018 - Summary Findings and Outlook

Manufacturing Circle Investment Tracker Q2 2018 - Media Statement

Manufacturing Circle Investment Tracker Q1 2018 - Summary Findings and Outlook

Manufacturing Circle Investment Tracker Q1 2018 - Media Statement

Manufacturing Circle Investment Tracker Q4 2017 - Summary Findings and Outlook

Manufacturing Circle Investment Tracker Q4 2017 - Media Statement

Manufacturing Circle Investment Tracker Q4 2017 - Presentation

Manufacturing Circle Investment Tracker Q3 2017

Manufacturing Circle Investment Tracker Q3 2017 - Summary Findings and Outlook

Manufacturing Circle Investment Tracker Q3 2017 - Media Statement

Manufacturing Circle Investment Tracker Q2 2017 - Summary Findings and Outlook

Manufacturing Circle Investment Tracker Q1 2017 - Summary Findings and Outlook

Manufacturing Circle Investment Tracker Q4 2016

Manufacturing Circle Investment Tracker Q3 2106

The Manufacturing Circle launched its  Map to a Million New Jobs in a Decade on 24 November 2017, a plan to create an environment in which manufacturing in South Africa can thrive and jobs can be created.

Map to a Million New Jobs in a Decade

The second, more advanced, set of indicators differs from the first set in that these templates are fully formulated to produce formatted answers for each indicator. That is to say, the second set of templates not only describe the methods of calculating, but have already been programmed with final results for the 13* SADC countries.

The aim is modest in terms of capacity building by bringing selected trade performance measures to the attention of trade analysts in a learning by doing self-help style so that own applications can be considered.

Go to country:
Angola | Botswana | Democratic Republic of Congo | Lesotho | Malawi | Namibia | Mauritius | Mozambique | South Africa | Swaziland | Tanzania | Zambia | Zimbabwe

*Templates are not available for Madagascar and the Seychelles

This set of templates contains easy-to-follow steps which illustrates the processes and objectives of calculating the following trade and tariff indicators:

1. Import Intensity Indexes
2. Export Intensity Indexes
3. Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA)
4. Revealed Trade Barriers (RTB)
5. Intra Industry Trade Indexes and
6. Tariff Data Profiles

Below are Guides, Examples, Exercises and Solutions for both trade and tariff indicators.

Agro-processing is an increasingly important market access point for agricultural producers. The development of the agro-processing sector thus has significant potential to create opportunities for smaller agricultural producers, thereby supporting the creation of new employment and livelihood opportunities in rural areas. However, market access points are not homogenous from the point of view of smaller producers. Policy needs to incorporate the possibility of the adverse inclusion of smaller producers into established markets. The likelihood of beneficial inclusion outcomes will be enhanced by a stronger focus on net farm income projections for individual producers; farmer cooperatives at the processing level; innovation in the location and structure of agro-processing infrastructure; and better policy co-ordination among the various government actors.

The Real Economy Bulletin - Fourth Quarter 2015

In this edition:

Production and sales:  In the past quarter, agricultural output dropped sharply, by 4%, while manufacturing shrank by 0,6%. Mining, however, climbed by 0,4%. Overall, GDP growth slowed significantly compared to the previous quarter.  Read more.

Employment:  After falling fairly steadily from 2008, manufacturing employment levelled out in 2015. Total employment climbed by 700 000 over the year, with the bulk of net new jobs emerging in public, private and domestic services and retail. Still, the global slowdown, drought and pressure on mining and heavy industry led to widespread anticipation of job losses in the coming months, at least in agriculture, mining and metals production.  Read more.

Trends in trade: Over the last quarter, the more competitive currency protected the revenues of manufacturing and mining exporters in rand terms, despite falling volumes. The falling price of petroleum in dollar terms helped relieve the burden of slowing merchandise exports on the balance of trade. Read more.

Profitability and investment: Statistics South Africa's Quarterly Financial Statistics provides information on trends in profitability and capital expenditure in the formal sector outside of agriculture, with information currently available through the third quarter of 2015. Read more.

Behind the trends: The impact of the end of the commodity boom has coincided with a major drought in Southern Africa. These two blows lie behind the slowdown in the South African economy, which worsened in the past quarter. Read more.

Brief: The exchange rate and the real economy: The depreciation of the rand has made manufacturing more competitive. Without it, more mines would have to close down. It results in part from the end of the commodity boom, and in part from an outflow of investment over the past two years. Download: The exchange rate and the real economy

Brief: Decarbonising the economy  risk or opportunity?The commitment made by South Africa to reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emission levels at the December 2015 COP21 negotiations will affect manufacturing and mining in various ways. A key dimension is the impact of the additional cost of electricity (due to the carbon tax) and the costs associated with improvements in the use of energy, imposed by regulatory constraints. Meeting South Africa’s COP21 targets will likely require diversification away from the current dependence on mining exports, which aligns with the core objectives of the Industrial Policy Action Plan. Download: Decarbonising the economy - risk or opportunity?

Engineering News - 09 March 2016

Read more

Potential of the citrus, table grape and subtropical fruit sectors and Opportunities for strategic interventions in support of agro-industrial production

Given the high levels of unemployment in the rural areas of South Africa this research explored the citrus, table grape and subtropical fruit subsectors of agriculture to better understand the potential for them to contribute to export growth, transformation and employment creation. The research finds that certain categories of agriculture are more labour intensive, better suited to South Africa’s climate and have significant potential for export growth. The research also makes a case for agriculture’s central role in growth, transformation and empowerment, advancing an argument that the distinction between agriculture and industry, and between processed and unprocessed primary commodities, is misleading.