All the numbers on South Africa’s crisis dashboard are blinking red. The economy is failing to grow and more and more young people find themselves on the outside looking in as education falters and jobs disappear. Energy and transport are in crisis. Governance is floundering as debt mounts and government runs out of money.

Better Choices is a collection by South Africa’s top thinkers on the political economy, providing an unflinching account of the myriad challenges the country faces. The picture that emerges is of a nation on the brink of a catastrophic slide into failure unless better, if tough, policy choices are made. As stark as these problems are, their solutions are tantalisingly close at hand. The chapters in this book outline exactly the solutions – those ‘better choices’– that need to be made by leadership to alter the country’s bleak trajectory.

South Africa cannot talk its way out of trouble. Key to success is removing the sources of friction – the red tape, over-regulation and rents – that slow down investment. This is only possible if a more effective, focused government acts decisively.

Compiled by The Brenthurst Foundation, Africa’s leading think tank on economic development, Better Choices is for those who want to build a positive, inclusive future for South Africa.

In some settings, such as Ireland, contiguous Catholic and Protestant states are often not conducive to good relations or neighbourliness. In colonial and imperial southern Africa, formal inter-state arrangements took place at the expense of a third party - subjected African peoples.

Three Wise Monkeys explores some of the contradictions, silences and oversights, and working misunderstandings that arise when an emerging Anglophone, Protestant, industrial and urbanising state - South Africa - develops side by side with Mozambique - a Lusophone, Catholic, commercial, rural colony.

In three volumes, Charles van Onselen examines the intertwined relations between South Africa and Portugal's chronically weak east coast colony, as expressed through the migrant labour system, the tourist trade, the rise and fall of LM Radio and the extraordinary tale of the Lourenço Marques Lottery. These areas constituted zones of cross-cultural, transnational interaction that both states were reluctant to acknowledge formally, choosing instead to 'see no evil, speak no evil and hear no evil' for much of the 20th century.

Three Wise Monkeys presents a startling new way of viewing the entangled, often hidden, economic, political and social dynamics that informed the rise of 20th-century South Africa, often at the expense of neighbouring Mozambique.

The volumes are:

• Volume 1: The Makings Of An African Economic Tragedy - Mozambique, circa 1500-1960
• Volume 2: Through The Turnstiles Of The Mind - White South Africans and the Freedoms Of Mozambique, circa 194-1975
• Volume 3: The Quest For Wealth Without Work - The Lourenco Marques Lottery, Protestant Panics and the South African White Working Classes , circa 1890-9165

Township Economy provides a unique insight into township informal business and entrepreneurship. It is set in the post-apartheid period, in the third decade of Africa’s democracy and draws on evidence collected from 2010-2018 in 10 township sites, nine in South Africa and one in Namibia. The book focuses on micro-enterprises, the business strategies of township entrepreneurs and the impact of autonomous informal economic activities on urban life.

The book is unique in approach and content. It looks at spatial influences at various gradients, from the city-wide level, to objects, to invisible infrastructure. The analysis examines the influence of power as a tool to dominate and control and thus constraint inclusive opportunities.

This captivating book will be of interest academic researchers, university students and specialists in business studies, urbanism, politics and socio-economic development.

First people communities are the groups of huntergatherers and herders, representing the oldest human lineages in Africa, who migrated from as far as East Africa to settle across southern Africa, in what is now Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. These groups, known today as the Khoisan, are represented by the Bushmen (or San) and the Khoe (plural Khoekhoen).

In First People, archaeologist Andrew Smith examines what we know about southern Africa’s earliest inhabitants, drawing on evidence from excavations, rock art, the observations of colonial-era travellers, linguistics, the study of the human genome and the latest academic research.

Richly illustrated, First People is an invaluable and accessible work that reaches from the Middle and Late Stone Age to recent times, and explores how the Khoisan were pushed to the margins of history and society. Smith, who is an expert on the history and prehistory of the Khoisan, paints a knowledgeable and fascinating portrait of their land occupation, migration, survival strategies and cultural practices.

This book demonstrates the continuities of five centuries of European-led slavery and colonialism in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas, examining calls for reparations in all three regions for what many now regard to have constituted crimes against humanity.

The Atlantic world economy emerged from the interactions of this triangular slave trade involving human chattel, textiles, arms, wine, sugar, coffee, tobacco, and other goods. This is thus the story of the birth of the modern capitalist system and a Black Atlantic that has shaped global trade, finance, consumer tastes, lifestyles, and fashion for over five centuries. The volume is authored by a multi-disciplinary, pan-continental group encompassing diverse subjects.

This collection is concise and comprehensive, enabling cross-regional comparisons to be drawn, and ensuring that some of the most important global events of the past five centuries are read from diverse perspectives.

For much of its history, human population growth increased at a glacial pace. The demographic rate only soared about 200 years ago, climaxing in the period 1950-2000. In that 50-year span, the population grew more than it had in the previous 5000 years. Though these raw numbers are impressive, they conceal the fact that the growth rate of population topped out in the 1960s. The apparent population boom may be approaching a population bust, despite our coexistence with more than seven billion people. In On the Cusp, economist Charles Pearson explores the meaning of this population trend from the arc of demographic growth to decline. He reviews Thomas Malthus's famous 1798 argument that human population would exceed the earth's carrying capacity, and explains why this surfaces periodically when birth rates strongly exceed 2.1 children per household. Analyzing population trends through dual lenses - demography and economics - Pearson examines the potential opportunities and challenges of population decline and aging. In many industrialized countries, the combination of an aging population and considerable food security may call for policies that boost fertility, immigration, and worker participation, reform pension schemes, and ease concern over moderating rates of population and economic growth. Sharp and occasionally funny, Pearson's research has thought-provoking implications for future public policies. Pearson ends his analysis with a mildly hopeful conclusion, noting that both the rich and the poor face a new demographic order. Bold and comprehensive, general readers and students alike will find On the Cusp an informative and engaging read.

With more and more global economic wealth and power resting with fewer and fewer people, and given the acute land inequalities in the rural areas of Africa, Latin America, and Asia, how valid are the dominant theories about the nature of rural livelihoods? How can the intricacies of the economic and social transformations that are unfolding in the rural areas of developing countries best be understood? The authors of Equitable Rural Socioeconomic Change address these questions as they explore the interrelated themes of land inequality, climate dynamics, and technological innovation across varied rural landscapes, primarily in South Africa, but also in Rwanda, and Brazil.

An undertaking without parallel or precedent, this monumental volume encapsulates much of what is known of the history of food and nutrition. It constitutes a vast and essential chapter in the history of human health and culture. Ranging from the eating habits of our prehistoric ancestors to food-related policy issues we face today, this work covers the full spectrum of foods that have been hunted, gathered, cultivated, and domesticated; their nutritional make-up and uses; and their impact on cultures and demography. It offers a geographical perspective on the history and culture of food and drink and takes up subjects from food fads, prejudices, and taboos to questions of food toxins, additives, labelling, and entitlements. It culminates in a dictionary that identifies and sketches out brief histories of plant foods mentioned in the text - over 1,000 in all - and additionally supplies thousands of common names and synonyms for those foods.

An undertaking without parallel or precedent, this monumental volume encapsulates much of what is known of the history of food and nutrition. It constitutes a vast and essential chapter in the history of human health and culture. Ranging from the eating habits of our prehistoric ancestors to food-related policy issues we face today, this work covers the full spectrum of foods that have been hunted, gathered, cultivated, and domesticated; their nutritional make-up and uses; and their impact on cultures and demography. It offers a geographical perspective on the history and culture of food and drink and takes up subjects from food fads, prejudices, and taboos to questions of food toxins, additives, labelling, and entitlements. It culminates in a dictionary that identifies and sketches out brief histories of plant foods mentioned in the text - over 1,000 in all - and additionally supplies thousands of common names and synonyms for those foods.

From a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian comes the first definitive history of the Western hemisphere, a sweeping five-century narrative of North and South America that redefines our understanding of both continents.

The story of the United States’ unique sense of itself was forged facing south – no less than Latin America’s was indelibly stamped by the looming colossus to the north. In this stunningly original reinterpretation of the New World, Professor Greg Grandin reveals how the Americas emerged from constant, turbulent engagement with each other, shedding new light on well-known historical figures like Bartolomé de las Casas, Simón Bolívar and Woodrow Wilson, as well as lesser-known actors such as the Venezuelan Francisco de Miranda, who almost lost his head in the French Revolution and conspired with Alexander Hamilton to free America from Spain.

America, América traverses half a millennium, from the Spanish Conquest – the greatest mortality event in human history – through the eighteenth-century wars for independence and the Monroe Doctrine, to the coups and revolutions of the twentieth century. This monumental work of scholarship fundamentally changes our understanding of slavery and racism, the rise of universal humanism, and the role of social democracy in staving off extremism. At once comprehensive and accessible, America, América shows how the United States and Latin America together shaped the laws, institutions, and ideals that govern the modern world. Drawing on a vast array of sources, and told with authority and flair, this is a genuinely new history of the New World.

Demographic Yearbook 2014 is the the sixty-fifth in a series published since 1948. Through the cooperation with the National Statistical Offices, official demographic statistics are compiled in theYearbook, as available, for more than 230 countries and areas of the world up to the reference year 2014. This edition of the Yearbook contains chapters on the population size and distribution, the population of capital cities, fertility, foetal mortality, infant and maternal mortality, general mortality, nuptiality and divorce.

"Americans at Midlife" is an exploration of the middle years within the framework of trends in the larger society, including longer life expectancy and an aging population; changes in marriage, divorce, and family composition; increased participation of women in the labor force; and the growth of two-income families.Major interests at midlife center around work and careers, current and future economic well-being, and planning for retirement. Other major concerns involve relationships with younger and older generations: boomerang kids who leave home and return, and aging parents, often healthy and active now, who may need care in their later years.

The book begins with a discussion of how demographic and social changes affect midlife, followed by chapters on work and retirement planning or looking for the good years, the not-so-empty nest, and aging parents. A chapter on mid-life women considers the implications of combining work and caregiving and raises concerns about their economic well-being, given their longer life expectancy and often more limited resources. The book ends with a consideration of policy issues that may affect midlife in the future.

Many developed countries are facing a demographic change with an increasing share of older individuals, yet little is known about how older workers will impact regional and national economies in terms of labor market dynamics. One possible outcome of this new demographic structure is that more individuals will become entrepreneurs at an older age. This Handbook contributes to the important and emerging field of entrepreneurship among this group and focuses on the behavioral perspectives of this phenomenon; on innovation, dynamics and performance; and the ways entrepreneurship among the elderly looks within different countries. Researchers interested in the field of entrepreneurship among older workers and policy makers dealing with the effects of changing demographic settings within countries or regions will turn to this work to gain a better understanding of entrepreneurship and aging. Contributors include: Z. Acs, M. Amaral, A.E. Brouwer, M. Cucculelli, M. Damman, H. Delfmann, M. Dragusin, R. Fonseca, M. Fritsch, M.M. Gielnik, J. Hessels, C. Holmquist, M. Klinthall, B. Leick, R. Mariana, A. Maritz, C. Matos, H. Mayer, M. Mensmann, G. Micucci, S.C. Parker, A. Sorgner, R. Sternberg, E. Sundin, P. van der Zwan, H. Van Solinge, D. Welsh, M. Wyrwich, H. Zacher, T. Zhang

Equity is the tool to achieve diversity and inclusion that will help eliminate injustice and fairly distribute the benefits of an equitable environment to everyone. Corporate culture around the world has already stated efforts for sustainable development through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in rural areas. This infrastructure must be strengthened so that the rural community can become an active part of changing the world of work. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Efforts of Businesses in Rural Areas evaluates growth trajectories and educational opportunities in rural areas. It further explores the inclusion efforts of marginalized groups in rural society. Covering topics such as the construction industry, rural populations, and workplace inclusivity, this premier reference source is a valuable resource for policymakers, investors, professionals, business leaders and managers, economists, sociologists, students and educators of higher education, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

The last two decades have witnessed significant new developments in the field of population policy, particularly an increasing trend toward the establishment of national population planning efforts in the countries of the Third World. In this volume, a group of distinguished specialists in the field address some of the most critical questions that have arisen in debates about population policy: What are some of the national policy priorities? How are they implemented? How successful have they been? What is the role of international agencies in the implementation of population policy? What are some of the legal and ethical issues involved? The contributors focus on the Asian region, which has been most active in the development and implementation of population policy, but also offer a geographically balanced treatment of the subject by including papers that discuss the experiences of countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and African nations.

The volume begins by discussing the interactions among legal issues, human rights, and population policy. The ethics of population control and the nature of the population establishment in the United States receive extended treatment in two chapters, followed by an in-depth examination of immigration policy in the United States. A group of papers evaluate population planning efforts in India, China, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, examining such issues as the costs of restrictive programs and the reasons for the persistence of high birth rates in some countries despite extensive family planning programs. The new generation of African population policies and the impact of policies on fertility and family planning in selected Latin American countries complete the country study section of the volume. Concluding chapters assess the roles of the World Bank and the United Nations in shaping Third World population policy. Students of international development, sociology, and population studies will find here important new insights into the complex issues surrounding population planning policies.

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Showcasing ways in which the theory of the lifecourse has been applied in demographic research, this innovative Handbook uses key datasets to offer a deeper understanding of the causes and consequences of demographic change across the lifecourse. This Handbook features contributions from leading international demographers and social scientists, covering a range of substantive areas such as employment, health, migration, social security, family formation, housing and inequality to give substance to investigations into the individual's lifecourse. Chapters highlight major theoretical and methodological advances in lifecourse research and present research that sheds light on family dynamics, health and mobility over the lifecourse, illustrating the implications of lifecourse research for policy and reform. Comprehensive and cutting-edge, this Handbook will be crucial reading for students and researchers of demography, social policy, sociology and gerontology at all levels looking to enhance their own research agendas. Policy makers and practitioners of demographic research will also benefit from its insights into the key methodological avenues for advanced investigations. Contributors include: K. Barclay, M. Benzeval, L. Bernardi, A. Berrington, A. Boersch-Supan, P. Bridgen, P. De Jong, H. De Valk, T. Emery, M. Evandrou, A. Evans, L. Fadel, J. Falkingham, A.E. Fasang, A. Findlay, I. Garfinkel, A.H. Gauthier, A. Goodman, E. Graham, J. Holmes, J. Huinink, K. Keenan, K. Kiernan, S. Kim, D. Kneale, M. Kolk, H. Kulu, M. Lyons-Amos, K.U. Mayer, D. McCollum, S. McLanahan, A. McMunn, T. Meyer, J. Mikolai, M. Qin, A. Sabater, L. Sariscsany, R.A. Settersten, C. Van Mol, L. Vargas, A. Villadsen, A. Vlachantoni, J. Waldfogel, M. Wright

Alfred A. Marcus and Mazhar Islam examine how demographic changes introduce new challenges for businesses, with a focus on how the world today is divided between disproportionately old and young nations. Taking a broad international perspective, the book illustrates how demography affects underlying conditions in nations, presenting the risks and opportunities for businesses as well as a set of concrete obligations they owe to the nations in which they operate. The book analyzes the key challenges that nations face based on whether they have principally old, young, or middle-aged populations, and how businesses can best respond to these challenges. Chapters particularly emphasize the impacts of immigration and technology, democratic governance, crime, corruption, and stability. Providing an in-depth examination of the relationships between youth bulges, youth busts and violence, the book grapples with the question of whether the world is likely to be a more peaceful place in the future, and the implications this could have for the global business environment. Demography and the Global Business Environment will be a valuable resource for scholars and students of international business and strategic management. It will also be highly beneficial for business leaders looking for guidance about how to evaluate the opportunities and risks of investing in various countries.