Tag: economic policy

Business confidence in its most basic form is the optimism or pessimism of business in future economic conditions. This in most instances drives their willingness to invest, hire people and expand operations. According to a report by United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD), several factors beyond economic determinants are increasingly shaping investment decisions.

Michael O’Dowd wrote in his book, The Industrial Revolution Myth and Reality, about the widely held myth that the industrial revolution in eighteenth century England was evil, which he contended was a persistent but mistaken myth.

Lebanon is facing a financial meltdown so severe that the World Bank has branded it as one of the worst since the mid-19th century. The country is fast spiralling into a dangerous situation of state failure, marked by violent riots, escalating blackouts and spiking fuel price increases.

Mauritius is of serious significance to countries in the Africa sphere. Its high ranking means that the economy of the country is organised in a manner that brings great benefits to its inhabitants. This island country is ranked 7th out of 162 countries in the Economic Freedom of the World Report 2020. 

The middle class broadly has been a high level, vigorous and academic marathon in defining and diagnosing. The middle class has always been viewed as the creation of a capitalistic system, leading to defining society in terms of class and wealth.

A loan from the IMF could instil investor confidence – with or without conditions. The previous announcement by the Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni that the South African Government is considering approaching the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial assistance amid the COVID-19 pandemic has drawn quite a bit of criticism.

With severely limited fiscal space, planned economic reforms need to be fast-tracked. South Africa is in a grip of panic over the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The situation prompted an extraordinary address to the nation by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the evening of March 15. Apart from very real human health concerns, he commented that the outlook for the local economy – already on a weak footing heading into 2020 – is a big headache. Economic growth forecasts have been cut over the past few weeks as forecasters realise that the impact of the pandemic will be larger than previously thought. This begs the question: how will local authorities respond?

The South African economy is facing a savings crisis. Citizens cannot afford to save enough money to drive the necessary capital generation for investment because of the suffocating effects of the government’s economic policies, such as high tax rates and levies on certain products like fuel.

The almost simultaneous implosion of socialist and communist systems throughout the world is arguably the single most significant political event of the twentieth century. The year 1989 is particularly poignant because in that year the Berlin Wall was dismantled.  This event signalled the beginning of the end of socialism in Europe and hastened an already growing worldwide disillusionment with socialist ideology.

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni delivered a macabre Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBSP) to Parliament on October 30. The MTBPS communicates to government and the people the economic context of the country and fiscal spending priorities over the coming three years. (It does not include detailed spending plans or tax proposals, which are left to the main budget in February.)