Doctoral Degrees (Geography and Environmental Studies)

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https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/617

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Geography and Environmental Studies) by browse.metadata.advisor "Geyer, Hermanus Stephanus"

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    On ideology change and spatial and structural linkages between formal and informal economic sectors in Zimbabwean cities (1981-2010)
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013-03) Gumbo, Trynos; Geyer, Hermanus Stephanus; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Geography and Environmental Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Zimbabwean cities have been experiencing wide-ranging economic restructuring since independence in 1980. The relationships between the declining formal economy and the growing informal economy concomitant with political and economic ideological shifts over the years have not been studied extensively and are not well understood. In this study the impact of political and economic ideological shifts on the growth, spatial and structural linkages between the two sectors over the three decades, from 1981-2010, in the country’s two main cities, Harare and Bulawayo, is investigated. Mixed-method approaches were applied to gather spatial, quantitative and qualitative data. Geospatial data were created using 1164 and 857 geographical positioning system locational points of informal economic enterprises in Harare and Bulawayo respectively. Maps of the two cities were scanned, georeferenced, projected and digitised. Longitudinal and crosssectional data were gathered from archival sources and through 300 and 600 questionnaire surveys of formal and informal economic operators respectively. Qualitative data was generated from 30 interviews that were conducted with professionals that influence the operations of the two sectors. The data were analysed using GIS, SPSS and Statistica software to reveal the temporal growth of the two sectors, as well as their spatial and structural linkages. It was found that the informal sector grew by 17% under the socialist policies of the 1980s. This increase was partly attributable to overurbanisation because the urban labour force increased at an average of 3% per annum compared to the formal economic sector that generated employment at an average of only 2.2% per annum throughout the 1980s. The shifts toward neo-liberal economic policies at the beginning of the 1990s resulted in immense retrenchments, forcing many workers to join the informal sector. As formal firms adjusted their operations to fight global competition, employment generation declined to an average of 1% per annum throughout the1990s. The informal sector responded by employing 61% of the labour force by 2001. The adoption of authoritarian policies at the beginning of the 2000s accelerated the decline of the formal economy which recorded negative growths for most of the first decade of the millennium. This led to the rapid rise of informal sector employment to an astronomic level of 87.8% in 2008. The investigation revealed substantial locational transformations of both formal and informal economic enterprises. During the 30-year period, informal economic businesses spread in low-income suburbs, city centres and neighbourhood and district shopping centres. 16.3% of formal economic enterprises left the city centres preferring secure medium density suburbs close to the CBDs, shopping complexes, industrial, office and business parks on the edges of the cities. 83.7% remained in the city centres and industrial centres where informalisation of operations was one of the strategies employed to fight competition, whilst 86.3% and 22.8% informal economic enterprises licensed and registered their operations respectively over the 30 year period. These spatial and structural changes resulted in linkages being formed between the two sectors. The nature of the linkages is largely influenced by the position of the informal businesses on a continuum of informal enterprises ranging from traditional, through transitional to semi-formal. It was found that traditional and transitional enterprises had strong backward linkages with formal businesses where they purchase their goods and raw materials. Forward linkages exist where semi-formal businesses sell furniture, building materials and clothing to formal businesses. Thus, a symbiosis exists, but linkages are very exploitative as formal businesses tend to dictate the terms of business. The reciprocal-supportive model was extended by adding four pillars that influence the operations of the two sectors to produce a differential complexity model of informalisation (DCMI). The reasons or causes of informalisation (RE); the subsectors that comprise the two sectors (SE); the various locations of the two sectors’ businesses (L); and the levels of formality and informality (Ls) are integrated in the DCMI to aid comprehension of the linkages between the two sectors. The model can be adjusted and applied to various urban settings, allowing for the development of the two sectors spatially, structurally and temporally.
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    Regional economic resilience: exploring industrial decline in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, Zimbabwe
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-12) Gambe, Tazviona Richman; Geyer, Hermanus Stephanus; Horn, Anele; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Geography and Environmental Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study sought to investigate the strategy options for regional economic resilience in the face of industrial decline in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province in Zimbabwe. Bulawayo has been going through a protracted period of crippling industrial decline. Using the economic resilience concept and theories of regional development, the study analysed the different factors behind industrial decline, firm resilience strategies, policy strategy options for firm and economic resilience, strategy options for economic resilience in Bulawayo, and the conceptualisation of economic resilience in cities in the Global South whilst drawing lessons from the study area. The study utilised mixed methods. The positivist and interpretivist philosophies were both adopted to achieve a detailed understanding of economic resilience. Data was collected from 392 industrialists operating in Bulawayo through questionnaires and observations. Eight key informant interviews were also conducted. Data was analysed through chi-square analyses, Fisher’s exact tests, trend analyses, regression analyses, content analyses, and descriptive statistics. The study found that, a prolonged period of industrial decline has ‘locked-in’ the economy of Bulawayo in a path of economic decline that has altered the structure of the economy. The city is now dominated by micro, small, and medium enterprises constituting approximately 90% of the total number of firms. However, small firms were found to be more resilient, compared to large firms. The study also found that firm resilience, coupled with economic diversification, firm linkages, and regional patriotism are some of the important determinants of economic resilience in Bulawayo. It was also found that measuring and analysing economic resilience in cities in the Global South, such as Bulawayo, is marred by low quality and the dearth of data. Accordingly, the study recommends a long-term investment in the creation of quality datasets required for the analysis of economic resilience and for regional policymaking. A clear separation between national and regional policies in Zimbabwe is also recommended. This would encourage the formulation of policies that address unique and region-specific economic challenges. Finally, the study recommends complementary linkages.
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    Spatial economic attributes of airport-centric developments in Cape Town and Johannesburg
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-03) Mokhele, Masilonyane; Geyer, Hermanus Stephanus; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Geography and Environmental Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The existing knowledge lacks empirically informed description and explanation of the economic fundamentals driving the forces of attraction of airports. This void is arguably a result of the absence of an appropriate theoretical framework to guide the analyses. The aim of the study was therefore to contribute towards a theoretical framework that describes and explains forces that drive the location and mix of airport-centric developments. Towards achieving this aim, the objectives of the study were: one, to establish the type of economic activities that are located on and around the Cape Town and OR Tambo airports, and analyse the reasons for locating there; two, to identify a propulsive economic element found around the Cape Town and OR Tambo airports, and analyse the linkages they have with the airport-centric developments and airports; three, to analyse the spatial, economic and structural linkages within the airport-centric developments of the Cape Town and OR Tambo airports, between the airport-centric developments and the airports, as well as the airport-centric developments’ linkages with their metropolitan areas and other regional, national and international airport-centric developments and locations; four, to establish the changes that have occurred over time in the form of the airport-centric developments of the Cape Town and OR Tambo airports. To address the research objectives, the study adopted a case study approach, centred on the Cape Town and OR Tambo international airports and surrounds in South Africa. A survey was used as a main data collection method, with the investigations informed primarily by the conceptualisation of the growth pole theory. From the findings, the Cape Town and OR Tambo airports were discovered to have propulsive economic qualities that act as significant forces of attraction in the clustering of firms. Together with their airport-centric developments, the two airports were discovered to have growth pole properties because of the linkages that occur within the study areas, and the linkages that exist between the airport-centric firms and the airports. It was noted that the transport-oriented firms (typified by couriers and freight carriers) act as anchors in some fellow airport-centric firms making use of elements of urbanisation economies, particularly as regards the use of the two airports for airfreight services. The study contributed towards a spatial economic theory of airport-centric developments, using the following concepts as building blocks: economic space, relational firm, geographical and organisational proximity, relational scale and pattern; understood in terms of their interconnections with the concepts of linkages, agglomeration economies, clustering, and the propulsive economic element. The theoretical framework is summarised as follows. One, airport- centric firms are not atomistic islands that merely transmit market transactions, but are characterised by intra-firm and inter-firm linkages. Two, the economic space that airport-centric firms are part of is not equivalent to geographical space. Three, in their business operations, airport-centric firms rely on a combination of geographical proximity and organisational proximity. Four, geographical scale does not restrict the operations of the economic space of airport-centric firms, resulting in a combination of spatial clustering and organisational clustering.