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South Africa: Social Accounting Matrix (SAM), 1993, 1998, and 1999

Harvard Dataverse (Africa Rice Center, Bioversity International, CCAFS, CIAT, IFPRI, IRRI and WorldFish)

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Title South Africa: Social Accounting Matrix (SAM), 1993, 1998, and 1999
 
Identifier https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/JU6GVD
 
Creator Thurlow, James
van Seventer, Dirk Ernst
 
Publisher Harvard Dataverse
 
Description This paper reports on the construction and testing of a Standard International Food Policy Research
Institute (IFPRI) computable general equilibrium model for South Africa. A 1998 social accounting
matrix (SAM) for South Africa is compiled using national accounts information and recently released
supply-use tables. By updating to a recent year, and by distinguishing between producers and
commodities, this SAM is an improvement on the existing SAM databases for South Africa.
Furthermore, this SAM is made consistent with the requirements of IFPRI’s standard comparative
static computable g
eneral equilibrium (CGE) model. This model is then used to simulate the economywide
impact of a range of hypothetical policy levers, including: increased government spending; the
elimination of tariff barriers; and an improvement in total factor productivity. Results indicate that
assumptions made regarding the mechanisms of macroeconomic adjustment are important in
determining the expected impacts of these policies. Firstly, despite mixed results concerning changes
in household income distribution, the impact of expansionary fiscal policy appears to be growth
enhancing,
with the Keynesian style adjustment mechanism producing the most positive results.
Secondly, a complete abolition of import tariffs also appears to generate increases in gross domestic
product, with negative and positive consequences for aggregate manufacturing and services
respectively. Finally, an increase in total factor productivity is growth enhancing, with the most
positive results derived under neoclassical assumptions of the macroeconomic adjustment mechanisms.
These simulations are meant to demonstrate the usefulness for economy-wide policy modelling and the
pa
per concludes by highlighting areas of policy analysis that might benefit from more detailed
applications with this framework.
 
Subject Arts and Humanities
Social Sciences
social accounting matrix
SAM
CGE model
South Africa
Southern Africa
Africa South of Sahara
Africa
 
Language English
 
Date 2002
 
Contributor IFPRI-KM
 
Relation A 2009 Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) Database for South Africa


South African Social Accounting Matrices (SAM) for 1993 and 2000
 
Type Value-added secondary data