Unemployment is a macroeconomic problem that affects women more than men. Improving self-employment prospects and income generation among women is a significant socio-economic development consideration. The aim of the study was is to explore what economic opportunities are sought by unemployed women in Khayelitsha and to determine the challenges encountered by the women from exploiting these opportunities. The study focused on unemployed women in Khayelitsha township in the Western Cape Province. The study employed a quantitative survey design and a questionnaire to collect data. Sample elements were selected using snowball sampling method. The significant findings of the study are that unemployed women have relatively low levels of education, and training, and are not aware of support programmes, although they are interested in starting a business. They, however, possess an understanding of potential business opportunities, which they might be able to exploit. Unfortunately, they face challenges in terms of access to finance and business skills.

The Interest Tax Shield has long been accepted in capital structure literature. In this study, the authors challenge the notion of the tax advantage of debt through scenario analyses from the perspective of different investors. The findings indicate that the tax advantage of debt can range from 28c per Rand of earnings, to a disadvantage of 4c per Rand of earnings, in other words, an advantage of equity. Companies could potentially optimise weighted average cost of capital through an understanding of tax consequences for investors. Investors could potentially improve their risk and return balance through using the optimal investment vehicle.

This study uses the Autoregressive Distributed Lag model to examine the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI), foreign portfolio investment (FPI), per capita GDP, and per capita carbon emissions in South Africa. It finds evidence of a positive relationship between carbon emissions and the investment flows of both FPI and FDI as well as GDP. This suggests that an increase in FPI , FDI and GDP per capita will lead to more carbon emissions per capita. The positive association can be explained by the fact that an inflow of funds augments industrializing companies’ capital, enabling them to increase production. The evidence confirms that FDI-led investment is directed towards energy-intensive sectors. The positive relationship between carbon emissions and portfolio investment seems to go against the global call for clean energy and green investment where investors are expected to consider a country’s policies on climate change and carbon emissions to the effect that they invest in the shares and bonds of entities that promote reduction of such emissions. Similarly, the positive association between FDI and carbon emissions suggests that, as an emerging market, South Africa has emissions that are primarily due to its heavy reliance on coal for electricity production. This could be due to weak environmental regulations intended to attract international investment. In formulating strategies to attract investment for economic growth, South Africa should ensure environmental issues are put at the forefront of the development agenda. This means that heavy industry funded by foreign investment should be accompanied by corresponding investment in renewable sources of energy.

Despite the increase in mobile penetration and the introduction of new mobile network players in the industry, there is limited published information on the relationship between service quality (SQ), customer satisfaction (CS) and behavioural intentions (BI) in South Africa. This study adopted a quantitative research method and a cross-sectional survey design which employed partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) (Smart PLS 2.0) to examine the above-proposed relationships. The study’s results show that tangibles (TAN), customer relations (CR), real network quality (RNQ) and image quality (IMQ), as well as CS, are significantly related in the South African mobile telecommunication industry. This study’s results show that the relationship between the constructs of SQ together, reasonably influence CS, which also influences the likelihood to recommend and switching intentions in the South African mobile telecommunication context. This study’s results have managerial implications. An SQ-CS-BI model is proposed and validated using Smart PLS.

This study investigated the impact of exchange rate regimes on industrial output growth in Nigeria, using annual data series from 1960 to 2016. It employed various econometrics techniques, including the unit root, the co-integration and the ordinary least square technique. The result of the co-integration estimate showed the absence of co-integration among the variables. The result of the ordinary least squares showed that the exchange rate has an insignificant impact on industrial production. So also, the result of the study showed that exchange rate regimes have not enhanced industrial production in Nigeria. The period of the flexible exchange rate regime had a negative and significant impact on industrial productivity in Nigeria. Sequel to the findings, the study recommended that the government should ensure that the exchange rate policy adopted enhances the performance of the industrial sector. In addition, there is a need for the government to shift her focus and policy directives towards the development of the industrial sector as this will attract the attention of foreign investors, which will in turn increase the inflow of foreign capital into the economy and further strengthen the domestic exchange rate.

Battery-powered electric cars have an important role in terms of future mobility. The purpose of this study is therefore, to investigate the factors that influence young consumers’ acceptance of electric cars. The theoretical framework of the study was guided by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The research examined the relationships between perceived usefulness, trust, value, risk and intentions to use electric cars by young consumers in South Africa. The study is quantitative in nature, 380 completed survey questionnaires were collected and analysed. The participants included young consumers who reside in Johannesburg and Gauteng in South Africa. Data was analysed through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using AMOS 23 and SPSS 23 statistical software. The findings of the study showed that the intentions to use electric cars were influenced by perceived usefulness, risk and value. Furthermore, it was noted that perceived trust had no statistically significant influence on the intentions to use electric cars. The study contributes to understanding the factors which influence the intentions to use electric cars by young consumers who represent a potential future market for electric car manufacturers. In this vein, technology orientated manufacturers of electric cars, marketers and policy makers can gain valuable insight from the study.

This study measures the technical, scale and chemical use efficiency of small-scale sugarcane growers in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The paper applied the input-oriented approach assuming a variable return to scale Data Envelope Analysis (DEA), Slack Based Measure model and Truncated regression model to estimate productive efficiency and its determinants. The multi-stage sampling technique was applied to collect cross-sectional data from 300 small-scale sugarcane growers for the 2015-2016 production season using a questionnaire. The estimated mean technical, scale and chemical use efficiency decomposed using the input-oriented DEA were 72.5%, 77.9% and 68.3%, respectively. Using the truncated regression analysis, we found that education, off-farm income, farming experience, extension support, and land size were significant determinants of technical efficiency. However, farming experience together with extension support and land size were negatively related to technical efficiency. We propose policy reforms aimed at stimulating optimal sugarcane production by improving production scales and chemical-input allocation which are managerially driven rather than natural induced production issues.

Public transport is an important segment of the South African transport system and the Public Utility Transport Corporation (PUTCO) is a player in this regard. The purpose of this study was to analyse commuters’ perceptions of service quality on a PUTCO bus route in the City of Tshwane. The methodology used for this research is quantitative in which data were collected using questionnaires distributed to 400 conveniently sampled respondents. Only 200 of the returned questionnaires were suitable for analysis, however. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software. The study revealed that PUTCO has failed to meet commuters’ expectations in areas such as reliability, extent of service, comfort, safety and affordability. Accordingly, the study highlights the importance and centrality of these issues for transport providers such as PUTCO in their quest to improve customer value.

The purpose of the research was to evaluate administrative practices in three selected Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In the higher education sector, students are the clients who are to be given service and whose needs are to be met. A SERVQUAL theoretical framework was employed in this study. The study drew on a mixed method research design. Questionnaires were administered to students, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with administrative clerks and administrative managers. A stratified sampling technique was used when collecting data from staff, and a convenience sample was applied when collecting data from students. Content analysis was used to analyse data from the interviews and the responses from questionnaires were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). The results of the research indicated a need for TVET Colleges to implement an appropriate set of processes for administrative practices and how critical it is that all employees should adhere to principles of quality customer service.