Decentralization and Governance

ABSTRACTIn South Africa and South Korea, the state adopted corporatism as a crisis response to the demands of democratisation. As a result, as social dialogue mechanisms, the corporatist institutions in South Africa and South Korea have failed to bring the actors together and to resolve the various issues as these institutions were expected to do. Labour in particular has been placed at a disadvantage in the overall policy-making process. Consequently, labour has become discontented, forcing it to withdraw from these processes. This article compares the rise and fall of corporatism in two seemingly very different cases, namely South Africa and South Korea by examining four similar reasons that prompted the adoption of corporatism and four similar conditions that also led to its collapse.

Based on the theoretical distinction between specific and diffuse support, this study examines and compares the effects of governance quality on political support in China, Japan, and South Korea. As regime type is an important contextual factor, the three countries provide ideal cases for testing how the effects of governance on political support vary across different political systems in East Asia. The results show that both economic and political governance affects specific support in the three countries. Political governance is more important for specific support in Japan and South Korea than in China, though regime type does not moderate the effect of political governance on diffuse support. In addition, economic governance is more important for diffuse support in China than in Japan and South Korea. In the field of specific support, economic governance is more important for support for government officials in Japan and South Korea than in China. Points for practitioners Public support is critical to a political system’s effectiveness, stability, and even survival. Quality of governance determines the fate of authoritarian regimes. It is because of bad governance that the masses cannot continue to tolerate the authorities and take actions to overthrow authoritarian leadership. Echoing Fukuyama’s (2013) argument that an authoritarian regime can be well governed, the Chinese government attempts to improve the quality of governance so as to sustain autocratic leadership by promoting technical innovation in administrative management. However, the intrinsic defects in authoritarian systems, such as the absence of constitutional constraints on power, undermine their capacity to improve political governance. It is questionable how much good political governance in an authoritarian system can achieve without democratic reform of the political system.

Purpose– This study aims to examine the factors influencing the quality of corporate governance in South Africa (SA) and Kenya. Firm-level variables including performance, firm size, leverage, investment opportunities and audit quality were identified from the corporate governance literature.Design/methodology/approach– The study used panel data of 247-firm years obtained from the annual reports of the 50 largest companies listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) of SA and 234-firm years obtained from the 49 companies listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE). The author then used content analysis to extract the study variables from the annual reports and multiple regression analysis to determine their relationship.Findings– The study found audit quality and firm performance as the main factors influencing the quality of corporate governance in Kenya and SA. There are also differences in the quality of corporate governance between the two countries.Research limitations/implications– First the study sample consists of the 50 largest firms listed in the JSE of SA and another 49 companies listed in the NSE of Kenya. Since these are large companies, the results may not be generalized to other smaller firms operating in both SA and Kenya. Second, this study is constrained to SA and Kenya. Firms in other developing countries may differ from their SA and Kenyan counterparts.Originality/value– The results of this study are important to the King Committee and other corporate governance regulators in Sub-Saharan Africa, in their effort to improve corporate governance practices, minimize corporate failure and protect the well-being of the minority shareholders. Furthermore, the study contributes to the understanding of the variables affecting the quality of corporate governance in developing economies of Africa.

The reconfiguration of the employment relationship — through the growing intensification, informalization and casualization of work, downsizing and retrenchments — impacts directly on workers’ households and the communities within which they are embedded. To understand these responses, we need to rethink the way we study the changing employment relationship. Employment relations should not only analyse the workplace: we need to research workers in the totality of their lives. To comprehend these processes we surveyed and interviewed workers in the workplace and in their households and communities. Through following workers into their homes and communities in South Africa, Australia and South Korea, the differential impact of the global restructuring of one industry, the white goods industry, on the non-working life of working people emerged. Two types of responses were identified: on the one hand, a retreat from, or an adaptation to, rapid market liberalization; on the other, mobilization to challenge the market. All three research sites evidenced innovative attempts at the local level to search for security. However, these responses lacked an overall vision of alternative possibilities to the realities of the free market paradigm of globalization.

In this paper, a Comparative Historical Analysis (CHA) is made between South Korea and South Africa for the improvement of the South African politics, economy, society, and ethos. Through a mixed-methods approach, this study is making use of four case studies and a literature study to learn from the most prominent differences between RSA and ROK experienced by South African expats living in ROK (confirmed by other expats in ROK). The issues that form the basis of discussion of prominent differences between South Africa and South Korea are 1) the respect basis of society (the Korean focus on respect for others is viewed as a counter for racial superiority theories in RSA), 2) work ethics (the strong Korean commitment to hard work and proper remuneration corrects the lack of work ethics in small RSA enterprises), 3) education and innovation (the educational system in Korea is under less strain than in RSA because it receives high priority funding and support from the government), and 4) national cohesion (RSA’s diversity can be detrimental if leads to a lack of cohesion in the society). These issues are discussed from a CHA perspective for the purpose of contributing to the ongoing debate for the improvement of the South African society, economy and politics. By presenting case studies, this paper is limited in scope but makes an invaluable contribution to the wider debate on the improvement of RSA. The novel contribution of this paper is that it adds to the debate the observations of expatriates living in a country that has some similarities with RSA, but different from RSA, managed to improve their economy since their democratization in 1987.

Purpose– This study aims to examine the factors influencing the quality of corporate governance in South Africa (SA). Firm-level variables including performance, firm size, leverage, investment opportunities and audit quality were identified from the corporate governance literature.Design/methodology/approach– The study used ordinary least squares regression on firm-specific and corporate governance variables obtained from panel data of 247-firm years obtained from the annual reports of the 50 largest companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Securities Exchange of SA.Findings– This study found leverage, firm size and investment opportunities as the main factors influencing the quality of corporate governance in SA.Research limitations/implications– The research findings should be interpreted in the light of the following limitations. First, the study sample consists of the 50 largest firms listed in the JSE of SA. Because these are large companies, the results may not be generalized to other smaller firms operating in SA. Second, this study is constrained to SA. Firms in other developing countries may differ from their SA counterparts.Originality/value– The results of this study are important to the King Committee and other corporate governance regulators in Sub-Saharan Africa, in their effort to improve corporate governance practices and probably minimize corporate failure and protect the well-being of the minority shareholders. Furthermore, the study contributes to our understanding of the variables affecting the quality of corporate governance in developing economies of Africa.

The study examined effect of digital economy on economic sustainability with the moderating effect of governance quality. The study covered the period of 28 years spanning from 1995 to 2022 across five selected countries in Africa. The study employed ex-pos facto research design and secondary source of data was used and the data was sourced from World Bank Data Indicators. The study focused on five African countries which were chosen based on their nominal gross domestic product which are Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Algeria, Ethiopia (NEESA). The estimation techniques used was Panel VAR and Panel ARDL. It was evidenced that digital economy has positive and governance quality have effect on economic sustainability among the African countries in the long run. Also, it was found that the interaction between governance quality and digital economy improve the long run relationship between the digital economy and economic sustainability among the African countries in the long run. It can be concluded that digital economy and governance quality promote economic sustainability. In addition, governance quality enhanced the relationship between digital economy and economic sustainability. Thus, in view of this, the study recommended that government should put mechanism in place that will expand information technology and the global knowledge economy in order to prime sustainable Economy. Also, the governance quality should be promoted among the African countries.

This study advances the debate on sustainable energy transitions by investigating how government quality and political ideologies shape private sector investment in renewable energy across VISTA‐C countries (Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa, Turkey, Argentina and Colombia). Challenging Ecological Modernization Theory's core premise, we reveal a paradox: while private investment generally reduces renewable adoption, parliamentary systems with high government quality (South Africa and Turkey) demonstrate positive market effects through policy stability and independent regulation. Using panel data (1990–2022) and the Panel Corrected Standard Error technique, we showed that higher levels of government quality strengthened the relationship between private sector investment and renewable energy in parliamentary systems. Notably, Turkey's centrist convergence shows how ideological pragmatism can overcome traditional left–right divides in energy policy. The findings provide policymakers with actionable insights: (1) legislative safeguards against policy reversals, (2) depoliticised regulatory frameworks and (3) cross‐party energy councils enhance investment viability. This research redefines the political economy of energy transitions by demonstrating that institutional architecture, not market forces alone, determines renewable investment success in emerging economies.

Central to virtually any indictment of South African literature, its historiography, or otherwise culturally and politically influenced modes of representation persist themes of social, political, and racial inequality. That is not to say that all South African cultural productions revolve around a centrifuge of racially focused social commentary; rather, that when historicizing a work of South African aesthetics such themes inevitably arise because of the nation’s colonial history and the Eurocentrism that have pervaded its modern socio-political foundations. When examining South African aesthetic/cultural representations (in this case, a literary text) it is thus crucial to properly locate the work in as full a historical context as possible. My research therefore aims to link South Africa’s history of colonization with the damaged race relations that ensued in the twentieth century as represented in a prominent work of South African theater: Athol Fugard’s “Master Harold” … And the Boys. My essay traverses the history of British and Dutch colonization in South Africa and seeks therein to register foundations for the Eurocentric, whitewashed ideologies which would eventually translate into official state policy in 1948 and which precipitated the broken race relations that Fugard’s semi-autobiographical play interrogates. I discuss Fugard’s depiction of white privilege while systematically linking such representations back to their colonial foundations, and ultimately assess Fugard’s play as a condemnation of white supremacy and as a plea for the recalibration of prejudiced racial hierarchies.

Owing to recent developments and implications inspired by fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies in the global manufacturing sector through the Industry 4.0 (I4.0) concept, this study was conducted to discover the impacts of I4.0 and environmental quality on the South African manufacturing sector, considering governance quality. To the best of our knowledge, no study has analysed the long-run and short impacts of I4.0, environmental quality and governance quality on the South African manufacturing sector integrating the bound test cointegration, Fully-Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) & Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) and nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) estimations techniques. Therefore, this study attempts to bridge this gap using different econometric approaches. The data used spans from 2000Q1 to 2020Q4. The principal component analysis was used to create Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and governance quality components. In this study, utilising the dynamic NARDL, it is seen that the LCO2, representing environmental quality, possesses positive and significant relationship with the LMVA, but when in interaction with the governance quality variables (GOV, INS, POL & ECO), there exists a positive and insignificant relationship with the LMVA showing there exists a dearth of green innovative technologies in the South Africa manufacturing sector respective of its significance. Utilising the FMOLS and DOLS, the GOV, INS, POL & ECO which represents governance quality, mostly possesses negative but significant relationships with the LMVA, even when in interaction with the I4.0 variable proving the I4.0 technologies have not yet started to be impactful to the South African manufacturing industry at large.

Orientation: Green consumption is a popular topic of conversation and research. Green initiatives are characterised by considerations, attitudes and behaviours.Research purpose: This article compares Korean and South African customers on five constructs plausibly associated with green customer citizenship attitudes or behaviours.Motivation for the study: Korean consumers are favourably orientated to green consumerism and serve as valuable benchmark for South African consumers.Research design, approach and method: Independent samples of 513 consumers in South Africa and 292 consumers in South Korea responded to an invitation-only, Internet-based questionnaire that focussed on attitudinal and behavioural issues of green purchasing and green consumption.Main findings: Statistically significant differences exist on all five scales. The secondary data favoured South Korea from a green perspective; however, for all five constructs subjected to empirical scrutiny, the results from South Africa produced a significantly higher mean than what was in evidence in the sample of South Korean residents.Practical/managerial implications: South African consumers tend to possess a stronger green disposition (attitude) while concurrently embracing and engaging in anti-consumption, advocacy, consumer coaching and customer helping (behaviours) – all in a green context – more so than do their South Korean peers. This implies that local consumers value green initiatives and that businesses could capitalise on the favourable green consumer trend.Contribution/value-add: The study compares South Africa’s green attitudes and behaviour internationally. Also, a country benchmark will be established as a reference mark in future studies to determine if South Africa is progressing on green consumerism.

We study how financial reforms affect the extent of consumption smoothing in a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model of an emerging economy. Consistent with the empirical literature and reform efforts in South Korea and South Africa, we emphasize the relation between consumer credit and durable purchases, and model reforms as the relaxation of the collateral constraint on lower income households. We find that the relaxation of the collateral constraint accounts for a substantial share of the decline in consumption smoothing experienced in South Korea and South Africa.

Purpose - First, this study contextually examines the governance codes of South Africa and South Korea. Second, it analyzes board features of South African (JSE) Mainboard and South Korean (KRX) KOSPI-listed companies. Design/methodology - This review is qualitative and uses data from the annual reports of the selected markets’ companies, respective exchanges’ official web sites and corporate governance-related web sites in order to examine the corporate governance practices in the two markets. In addition, Nvivo is employed in analyzing the content of the corporate governance codes of the selected countries. Findings - Our analysis indicates that the corporate governance codes of the two countries are evolving to keep up with the international trend of principles-based approach. The composition of the board of directors (BODs) of non-financial companies of both South Africa and South Korea shows no significant variation between the companies with regards to the executive (inside) and nonexecutive (outside) directors. On the contrary, there is a significant variation between South African and South Korean listed companies with respect to diversity. Originality/value - While previous studies are centered on the impact of governance codes on performance, this study intends to contextually evaluate the codes and features of South Africa and South Korea listed companies. This is essential and timely for regulators and policy makers given the importance of corporate governance features such as board independence and diversity in recent times.

According to most theorists of democratization, civil society is an important force in bringing about political change. But does the advent of a democratic regime also aff ect the role of civil society during the consolidation of democracy? If so, what are the most relevant transformations? In order to address such research questions, this article analyses the case of South Africa and South Korea with a specifi c focus on how civil society has reshaped itself during the phase of democratic consolidation. A particular emphasis is put on the changing relationship with the new democratic governments since the early 1990s until now. Th e comparative analysis reveals common trends (e.g. risks of cooptation, changing forms of mobilization and new socio-political strategies), while it also singles out the most signifi cant diff erences (e.g. the constitution of a strong middle-class civil society in South Korea vis-a-vis the crisis and resurgence of civic activism across local communities in South Africa) against the backdrop of two rather diff erent socioeconomic contexts.

Aims : The objective of this paper is to assess if Nigeria has achieved the path of economic development that will eventually lead to convergence and how long it will take her and at what rate she will be growi ng to reach her envisioned per capita income of $4,000 in the year 2020. Research design: Nigeria aims to become one of the top twenty nations in the world in the year 2020. To know if Nigeria will achieve this we examine the per capita income and consumer price index difference between Nigeria and industrialized nations (UK, US, Germany, France and Japan) and newly emerging markets ( Malaysia, South Africa, South Korea, Singapore) Place and Duration of Study: This study is centred on Nigeria and covers the period between 1960 and 2008. Methodology : We utilise the Augmented Dick -Fuller test and modified Barro -type time series of cross section. Results: The results showed that among the developed nations Nigeria can converge with USA and UK. While among the newly industrializing nations convergence is possible only with South Africa, South Korea and Malaysia. Also the results showed that Nigeria can catch -up with Germany, Japan, South Africa and Singapore in the long run. The Barro -type time series model yield s evidence of conditional convergence in per capita income. The findings show that for Nigeria to attain the per capita income of $4,000 in the year 2020, she needs to