The concept ‘cultural industries’ refers to a wide variety of cultural activities that are often commercialised. In recent years, an increasing number of exceedingly beneficial linkages have been developing between the cultural industries and the tourism industry. Film tourism is one of the most successful examples of these linkages, and in the context of this study, the film industry as a significant sector within the creative industries will be focused on. Film tourism has in the past few decades become a burgeoning sector in the tourism industry. In fact, it is estimated that the film industry contributes £6 billion a year to the United Kingdom’s (UK) economy when one factors in spin-off benefits such as tourism. South Africa has recently become a popular filming destination as well and could possibly also capitalise on the popularity and growth of film tourism. In fact, the film industry is already showing significant potential in South Africa. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) estimates that the film industry generates over R5.5 billion in economic activity annually and employs an estimated 30 000 people. The film industry is internationally considered to be a significant creator of employment opportunities and the sector is a prized generator of foreign exchange. Film then clearly emerges as one of the frontrunners within the creative industries, due not only to its massive growth in recent years, but also its abundant economic opportunities. Figure 1 clearly demonstrates this point: the creative industries contribute a total of £84.1 billion to the United Kingdom’s economy annually, and film and television (TV) is the third largest creative industry in the UK, only superseded by IT, software and games and advertising. Show less

The concept ‘cultural industries’ refers to a wide variety of cultural activities that are often commercialised. In recent years, an increasing number of exceedingly beneficial linkages have been developing between the cultural industries and the tourism industry. Film tourism is one of the most successful examples of these Show more

The primary tourist attraction at Augrabies National Park is the Falls and the results show that this is indeed what first comes to mind when tourists think about Augrabies with the beautiful surroundings featuring as the most important motivation to visit, followed by a desire to learn new things. Positive elements from the site observation were the excellent service attitude of staff; good layout of the Park, recycling bins, proper signage and maps and the universally accessibility of the walkways. Less positive observations related to the limited stock in the shop with no unique items or sufficiently available locally produced curios. Show less

The primary tourist attraction at Augrabies National Park is the Falls and the results show that this is indeed what first comes to mind when tourists think about Augrabies with the beautiful surroundings featuring as the most important motivation to visit, followed by a desire to learn new things. Positive elements from the Show more

The core message of Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens (WSNBG) is the enjoyment of nature “where luscious nature welcomes visitors and the rushing water of the Witpoortjie Waterfall, gushing from a height of 70 metres, soothes and revitalises careworn city-dwellers.” Overall the site is beautiful and had a number of positive observations such as the interesting and unique layout of different garden sections, the Garden invites visitors to explore, very friendly and helpful staff, ample space for visitor numbers and ease of movement through a pristine environment. Some of the negative observations related to limited ablution facilities, problematic access to visitors that make use of public transport (taxi and bus routes about 3km from entrance) and limited branded signage enroute to the site. Show less

The core message of Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens (WSNBG) is the enjoyment of nature “where luscious nature welcomes visitors and the rushing water of the Witpoortjie Waterfall, gushing from a height of 70 metres, soothes and revitalises careworn city-dwellers.” Overall the site is beautiful and had a number of Show more

Destination development is often focussed on major tourist attractions for good reason, as these are generally the drawcards for tourist visits and expenditure. Resources are directed towards the development of these major attractions due to their popularity and revenue potential. Major attractions also form part of tourist itineraries as “must experience” activities, with tourists being highly motivated to go to these attractions. Tourists are drawn to major attractions based on their knowledge or awareness of the attraction and their desire to experience what the attraction offers, either intrinsically or extrinsically. These reasons are investigated in this research, the results of which will partly inform the recommendations relating to strategies for potential interventions. Interventions may also be required on the basis of what is currently being offered in the selected attractions and the extent to which the tourist offerings or products are offering memorable tourist experiences. Show less

Destination development is often focussed on major tourist attractions for good reason, as these are generally the drawcards for tourist visits and expenditure. Resources are directed towards the development of these major attractions due to their popularity and revenue potential. Major attractions also form part of tourist Show more

The main purpose to visit the attraction is to learn about our ancestors. Maropeng means “returning to the place of origin” in Setswana, the main indigenous language in this area of South Africa. Our ancestors have lived in this area for more than 3-million years. Visiting the attraction means visiting the birthplace of humanity. The Cradle’s objective is to make learning fun for children and adults. Positive elements from Maropeng related to staff members who were found to be courteous, helpful and friendly; a lot of information that is provided on displays throughout the attraction although it might be overwhelming so an audio guide might be a good idea to enhance the learning experience. The attraction is very entertaining for children, with interactive displays evident. Some areas that need interventions are that there is no designated picnic area, the curio shop offers a lot of variety, but is quite expensive, especially for the South African market. More negative than positive aspects were identified at Sterkfontein Caves such as limited parking, security guards are not visible, the architecture of the building is not indicative of the area or theme of the attraction, and does not fit into the environment, limited signage throughout the site, and not sufficient benches / resting areas. Show less

The main purpose to visit the attraction is to learn about our ancestors. Maropeng means “returning to the place of origin” in Setswana, the main indigenous language in this area of South Africa. Our ancestors have lived in this area for more than 3-million years. Visiting the attraction means visiting the birthplace of Show more

This report focusses on key aspects emerging from Phase 1 of the study to develop a framework to assess the economic impacts of coastal and marine tourism in South Africa. A desktop study approach is adopted to review relevant literature which provides national and international perspectives to identify best practices and current trends with regard to assessing the economic impacts of Coastal and Marine Tourism (CMT) in order to inform the development of a framework to assess CMT’s contribution to South Africa’s tourism sector. The development of a standardised framework will assist in measuring, monitoring and managing the economic impacts of CMT in South Africa. Show less

This report focusses on key aspects emerging from Phase 1 of the study to develop a framework to assess the economic impacts of coastal and marine tourism in South Africa. A desktop study approach is adopted to review relevant literature which provides national and international perspectives to identify best practices and Show more

. The oceans economy offers significant development opportunities for sectors such as sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, renewable marine energy, marine bio-prospecting, maritime transport and marine and coastal tourism as indicated by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD. Marine and coastal tourism has great potential to unlock sustainable socio-economic development, generate multifarious benefits for local communities and the nation, and simultaneously contribute to protecting and conserving biodiversity of marine and coastal environments in South Africa and developing countries more generally. The theoretical framework for this study is based on the New Public Governance theory, which is premised on the acknowledgement that apart from the government, various public and private institutions can be centres of power on different levels, as long as their authority of power is recognized by the public. To explore such multiple centres of power, Stakeholder theory is used. Lastly, the study is theoretically and conceptually informed by the use of Common property resource theory. The information derived from the literature and policy review as well as primary data collection will be analysed thematically according to key themes, notably the opportunities and challenges of governance and coordination of coastal and marine tourism; the level of accessibility, transparency and effectiveness in coastal and marine tourism; how marine and coastal tourism could be sustainably governed and coordinated at national, provincial and local levels; level of engagement of key public and private stakeholder bodies whose policies and actions impact on coastal and marine tourism development; implementation of national policies and governance processes at the local level; and the effectiveness of local governance capacity and community engagement structures. The methodology for this research firstly involves conducting a desk-top study to examine relevant literature as well as to identify international best practices and national and sector specific (cruise tourism, beach tourism and events, adventure tourism, accommodation and facilities, etc.) trends in the South African context. This is followed by a critical policy review and primary data collection based on a case study approach. Personal and telephonic semi-structured interviews will be undertaken with purposively sampled key informants, who hold positions in the community, government and tourism business. In addition, a structured questionnaire survey will be used to gain responses from randomly sampled tourism businesses (focusing on direct users of marine and coastal tourism). The research was screened by the UKZN Research Ethics Committee in terms of the university research ethics code. All relevant ethical measures were put in place for the purpose of the research and protecting the participants. The findings of the study identify certain key blockages and challenges in the current policy implementation processes and governance structures. They include issues of coordination, communication, and consultation. Although there is tourism legislation that reflects local roles and responsibilities of stakeholders, the current legislation needs to be enhanced to ensure that certain regulations do not hold back costal and marine tourism development. Show less

. The oceans economy offers significant development opportunities for sectors such as sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, renewable marine energy, marine bio-prospecting, maritime transport and marine and coastal tourism as indicated by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD. Marine and coastal tourism Show more

Tourism activities have a direct and indirect impact on the environment. Global acknowledgement of this issue resulted in the introduction of responsible tourism programmes at the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the result of which were Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration which articulated the main principles for sustainable development in the 21st century (WTTC et al., 2002). In 1999, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) established the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism (GCET) to achieve responsible and sustainable tourism. The Global Code of Ethics is a set of principles designed to guide key players in tourism development including governments, the travel industry, communities and tourists. Most importantly, it aims to help maximise the sector’s benefits while minimising its potentially negative impact on the environment, cultural heritage and societies across the globe. Recently, the United Nations declared 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. According to the National Responsible Tourism Strategy (NDT, 2012), South Africa was the first country to explicitly include responsible tourism in its national policy, the 1996 White Paper on Development & Promotion of Tourism in South Africa. The Responsible Tourism Handbook defines responsible tourism as a tourism management strategy in which the tourism sector and tourists take responsibility to protect and conserve the natural environment, respect and conserve local cultures and ways of life, and contribute to stronger local economies and a better quality of life for local people (Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT), 2003). Show less

Tourism activities have a direct and indirect impact on the environment. Global acknowledgement of this issue resulted in the introduction of responsible tourism programmes at the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the result of which were Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration which articulated the main principles for Show more

This study investigates monetary policy shocks and industrial production in BRICS countries. The study is presented in four separate but related essays. The first (chapter three) employs a Panel Structural Vector Autoregressive model (𝑃−𝑆𝑉𝐴𝑅) to investigate how monetary policy shocks affect industrial output in BRICS countries using monthly data for the period 1994:1 to 2013:12. A nine variable 𝑃−𝑆𝑉𝐴𝑅 with short-run restrictions among the variables is constructed for the analysis. The study finds that variations in the exchange rate have the largest impact on industrial output in the BRICS countries. It is also observed that inflation rates significantly increase industrial output, peaking after about 11 months. This suggests that monetary authorities should be cautious when formulating policies aimed at reducing the inflation rate because of the spill over effect on industrial output. Further analysis reveals that interest rates have a marginal effect on exchange rates, while money supply makes a relatively large contribution to exchange rate fluctuations. Again, it is observed that changes in money supply exert a very large impact on variations in the rate of inflation. Thus, money supply plays an important role in curbing inflation. The study also analyses variations in interest rates, money supply and inflation and recommends that monetary authorities in the BRICS countries adjust interest rates, and not money supply, in response to inflation expectations. The second essay (chapter four) models exchange rate behaviour in the BRICS countries. This study examines global shocks and variations in the BRICS countries local currency/United States dollar exchange rate using the symmetric Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH), Exponential Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (EGARCH) and Asymmetric Power Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (APARCH) models to determine the relationship between the two. The GARCH, EGARCH and APARCH are employed under normal (Normal Gaussian) and nonnormal (Student‘s t and Generalized Error) distributions. Using monthly exchange rate data covering the period 1994:01–2013:12, the study finds that exchange rates in Brazil, Russia and India can well be modelled by the symmetric GARCH (1,1) model while in China, the three models perform well. In South Africa, the results of the three models also perform well but the EGARCH (1,1) model is found to be the best. Further analyses of the models reveal that the Student‘s t distribution produces better fit for estimating exchange rate variations and global shocks in BRICS countries compared to the Normal Gaussian and GED values under the nonnormal distributions. Overall, the study recommends that the BRICS countries should consider the impact of oil prices and global interest rates when formulating and implementing policies that impact on exchange rates. The third essay (chapter five) examines whether the five BRICS countries share similar business cycles and determines the probability of any of the countries moving from a contractionary regime to an expansionary regime. The study further examines the extent to which changes in monetary policy affect industrial output in expansions relative to contractions. Employing the Peersman and Smets (2001) Markov-Switching Model (MSM) and monthly data from 1994:01 – 2013:12, the study reveals that the five BRICS countries have similar business cycles. The results further demonstrate that the BRICS countries‘ business cycles are characterized by two distinct growth rate phases: a contractionary regime and an expansionary regime. It is observed that area-wide monetary policy has significantly large effects on industrial output in recessions as well as in booms. It is also established that there is a high probability of moving from state 1 (recession) to state 2 (expansion) and that on average, the probabilities of staying in state 2 (expansion) are high for each of the five countries. It is, therefore, recommended that the BRICS countries should sustain uniform policy consistency (monetary policy), especially as they formulate and implement economic policies to stimulate industrial output. The fourth essay (chapter six) investigates the long run and short run dynamics between industrial production and the factors affecting production in the emerging market economies of BRICS countries. Using the Chudik and Pesaran (2013) P-ARDL model and monthly data from 1994:01 – 2013:12, the study finds evidence of a cointegrating relationship between industrial production and selected variables. It is further observed that capital, labour, per capita income and exports have a positive long run impact on industrial production in the BRICS countries. However, a currency appreciation (an increase in the exchange rate) has a negative impact on industrial production. In the short run, it is found that imports, exports, exchange rates, labour, capital and per capita income significantly affect industrial production. The policy implication stemming from the analysis is that a sound economic policy is important for output production and industrialization in BRICS countries while poor policy will result in a nexus of constraintsfrom which escape may be difficult (or impossible). The industrial sector, therefore, should also be listed as a sector that can actualize the diversification process and boost economic performance in the EMEs. There should also be policy consistence in curtailing the declining trend of industrial production. This study investigates monetary policy shocks and industrial production in BRICS countries. The study is presented in four separate but related essays. The first (chapter three) employs a Panel Structural Vector Autoregressive model (𝑃−𝑆𝑉𝐴𝑅) to investigate how monetary policy shocks affect industrial output in BRICS countries using monthly data for the period 1994:1 to 2013:12. A nine variable 𝑃−𝑆𝑉𝐴𝑅 with short-run restrictions among the variables is constructed for the analysis. The study finds that variations in the exchange rate have the largest impact on industrial output in the BRICS countries. It is also observed that inflation rates significantly increase industrial output, peaking after about 11 months. This suggests that monetary authorities should be cautious when formulating policies aimed at reducing the inflation rate because of the spill over effect on industrial output. Further analysis reveals that interest rates have a marginal effect on exchange rates, while money supply makes a relatively large contribution to exchange rate fluctuations. Again, it is observed that changes in money supply exert a very large impact on variations in the rate of inflation. Thus, money supply plays an important role in curbing inflation. The study also analyses variations in interest rates, money supply and inflation and recommends that monetary authorities in the BRICS countries adjust interest rates, and not money supply, in response to inflation expectations. The second essay (chapter four) models exchange rate behaviour in the BRICS countries. This study examines global shocks and variations in the BRICS countries local currency/United States dollar exchange rate using the symmetric Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH), Exponential Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (EGARCH) and Asymmetric Power Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (APARCH) models to determine the relationship between the two. The GARCH, EGARCH and APARCH are employed under normal (Normal Gaussian) and nonnormal (Student‘s t and Generalized Error) distributions. Using monthly exchange rate data covering the period 1994:01–2013:12, the study finds that exchange rates in Brazil, Russia and India can well be modelled by the symmetric GARCH (1,1) model while in China, the three models perform well. In South Africa, the results of the three models also perform well but the EGARCH (1,1) model is found to be the best. Further analyses of the models reveal that the Student‘s t distribution produces better fit for estimating exchange rate variations and global shocks in BRICS countries compared to the Normal Gaussian and GED values under the nonnormal distributions. Overall, the study recommends that the BRICS countries should consider the impact of oil prices and global interest rates when formulating and implementing policies that impact on exchange rates. The third essay (chapter five) examines whether the five BRICS countries share similar business cycles and determines the probability of any of the countries moving from a contractionary regime to an expansionary regime. The study further examines the extent to which changes in monetary policy affect industrial output in expansions relative to contractions. Employing the Peersman and Smets (2001) Markov-Switching Model (MSM) and monthly data from 1994:01 – 2013:12, the study reveals that the five BRICS countries have similar business cycles. The results further demonstrate that the BRICS countries‘ business cycles are characterized by two distinct growth rate phases: a contractionary regime and an expansionary regime. It is observed that area-wide monetary policy has significantly large effects on industrial output in recessions as well as in booms. It is also established that there is a high probability of moving from state 1 (recession) to state 2 (expansion) and that on average, the probabilities of staying in state 2 (expansion) are high for each of the five countries. It is, therefore, recommended that the BRICS countries should sustain uniform policy consistency (monetary policy), especially as they formulate and implement economic policies to stimulate industrial output. The fourth essay (chapter six) investigates the long run and short run dynamics between industrial production and the factors affecting production in the emerging market economies of BRICS countries. Using the Chudik and Pesaran (2013) P-ARDL model and monthly data from 1994:01 – 2013:12, the study finds evidence of a cointegrating relationship between industrial production and selected variables. It is further observed that capital, labour, per capita income and exports have a positive long run impact on industrial production in the BRICS countries. However, a currency appreciation (an increase in the exchange rate) has a negative impact on industrial production. In the short run, it is found that imports, exports, exchange rates, labour, capital and per capita income significantly affect industrial production. The policy implication stemming from the analysis is that a sound economic policy is important for output production and industrialization in BRICS countries while poor policy will result in a nexus of constraintsfrom which escape may be difficult (or impossible). The industrial sector, therefore, should also be listed as a sector that can actualize the diversification process and boost economic performance in the EMEs. There should also be policy consistence in curtailing the declining trend of industrial production. This study investigates monetary policy shocks and industrial production in BRICS countries. The study is presented in four separate but related essays. The first (chapter three) employs a Panel Structural Vector Autoregressive model (𝑃−𝑆𝑉𝐴𝑅) to investigate how monetary policy shocks affect industrial output in BRICS countries using monthly data for the period 1994:1 to 2013:12. A nine variable 𝑃−𝑆𝑉𝐴𝑅 with short-run restrictions among the variables is constructed for the analysis. The study finds that variations in the exchange rate have the largest impact on industrial output in the BRICS countries. It is also observed that inflation rates significantly increase industrial output, peaking after about 11 months. This suggests that monetary authorities should be cautious when formulating policies aimed at reducing the inflation rate because of the spill over effect on industrial output. Further analysis reveals that interest rates have a marginal effect on exchange rates, while money supply makes a relatively large contribution to exchange rate fluctuations. Again, it is observed that changes in money supply exert a very large impact on variations in the rate of inflation. Thus, money supply plays an important role in curbing inflation. The study also analyses variations in interest rates, money supply and inflation and recommends that monetary authorities in the BRICS countries adjust interest rates, and not money supply, in response to inflation expectations. The second essay (chapter four) models exchange rate behaviour in the BRICS countries. This study examines global shocks and variations in the BRICS countries local currency/United States dollar exchange rate using the symmetric Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH), Exponential Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (EGARCH) and Asymmetric Power Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (APARCH) models to determine the relationship between the two. The GARCH, EGARCH and APARCH are employed under normal (Normal Gaussian) and nonnormal (Student‘s t and Generalized Error) distributions. Using monthly exchange rate data covering the period 1994:01–2013:12, the study finds that exchange rates in Brazil, Russia and India can well be modelled by the symmetric GARCH (1,1) model while in China, the three models perform well. In South Africa, the results of the three models also perform well but the EGARCH (1,1) model is found to be the best. Further analyses of the models reveal that the Student‘s t distribution produces better fit for estimating exchange rate variations and global shocks in BRICS countries compared to the Normal Gaussian and GED values under the nonnormal distributions. Overall, the study recommends that the BRICS countries should consider the impact of oil prices and global interest rates when formulating and implementing policies that impact on exchange rates. The third essay (chapter five) examines whether the five BRICS countries share similar business cycles and determines the probability of any of the countries moving from a contractionary regime to an expansionary regime. The study further examines the extent to which changes in monetary policy affect industrial output in expansions relative to contractions. Employing the Peersman and Smets (2001) Markov-Switching Model (MSM) and monthly data from 1994:01 – 2013:12, the study reveals that the five BRICS countries have similar business cycles. The results further demonstrate that the BRICS countries‘ business cycles are characterized by two distinct growth rate phases: a contractionary regime and an expansionary regime. It is observed that area-wide monetary policy has significantly large effects on industrial output in recessions as well as in booms. It is also established that there is a high probability of moving from state 1 (recession) to state 2 (expansion) and that on average, the probabilities of staying in state 2 (expansion) are high for each of the five countries. It is, therefore, recommended that the BRICS countries should sustain uniform policy consistency (monetary policy), especially as they formulate and implement economic policies to stimulate industrial output. The fourth essay (chapter six) investigates the long run and short run dynamics between industrial production and the factors affecting production in the emerging market economies of BRICS countries. Using the Chudik and Pesaran (2013) P-ARDL model and monthly data from 1994:01 – 2013:12, the study finds evidence of a cointegrating relationship between industrial production and selected variables. It is further observed that capital, labour, per capita income and exports have a positive long run impact on industrial production in the BRICS countries. However, a currency appreciation (an increase in the exchange rate) has a negative impact on industrial production. In the short run, it is found that imports, exports, exchange rates, labour, capital and per capita income significantly affect industrial production. The policy implication stemming from the analysis is that a sound economic policy is important for output production and industrialization in BRICS countries while poor policy will result in a nexus of constraintsfrom which escape may be difficult (or impossible). The industrial sector, therefore, should also be listed as a sector that can actualize the diversification process and boost economic performance in the EMEs. There should also be policy consistence in curtailing the declining trend of industrial production. Show less

This study investigates monetary policy shocks and industrial production in BRICS countries. The study is presented in four separate but related essays. The first (chapter three) employs a Panel Structural Vector Autoregressive model (𝑃−𝑆𝑉𝐴𝑅) to investigate how monetary policy shocks affect industrial output Show more

This study investigates monetary policy shocks and industrial production in BRICS countries. The study is presented in four separate but related essays. The first (chapter three) employs a Panel Structural Vector Autoregressive model (𝑃−𝑆𝑉𝐴𝑅) to investigate how monetary policy shocks affect industrial output in BRICS countries using monthly data for the period 1994:1 to 2013:12. A nine variable 𝑃−𝑆𝑉𝐴𝑅 with short-run restrictions among the variables is constructed for the analysis. The study finds that variations in the exchange rate have the largest impact on industrial output in the BRICS countries. It is also observed that inflation rates significantly increase industrial output, peaking after about 11 months. This suggests that monetary authorities should be cautious when formulating policies aimed at reducing the inflation rate because of the spill over effect on industrial output. Further analysis reveals that interest rates have a marginal effect on exchange rates, while money supply makes a relatively large contribution to exchange rate fluctuations. Again, it is observed that changes in money supply exert a very large impact on variations in the rate of inflation. Thus, money supply plays an important role in curbing inflation. The study also analyses variations in interest rates, money supply and inflation and recommends that monetary authorities in the BRICS countries adjust interest rates, and not money supply, in response to inflation expectations. The second essay (chapter four) models exchange rate behaviour in the BRICS countries. This study examines global shocks and variations in the BRICS countries local currency/United States dollar exchange rate using the symmetric Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH), Exponential Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (EGARCH) and Asymmetric Power Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (APARCH) models to determine the relationship between the two. The GARCH, EGARCH and APARCH are employed under normal (Normal Gaussian) and nonnormal (Student‘s t and Generalized Error) distributions. Using monthly exchange rate data covering the period 1994:01–2013:12, the study finds that exchange rates in Brazil, Russia and India can well be modelled by the symmetric GARCH (1,1) model while in China, the three models perform well. In South Africa, the results of the three models also perform well but the EGARCH (1,1) model is found to be the best. Further analyses of the models reveal that the Student‘s t distribution produces better fit for estimating exchange rate variations and global shocks in BRICS countries compared to the Normal Gaussian and GED values under the nonnormal distributions. Overall, the study recommends that the BRICS countries should consider the impact of oil prices and global interest rates when formulating and implementing policies that impact on exchange rates. The third essay (chapter five) examines whether the five BRICS countries share similar business cycles and determines the probability of any of the countries moving from a contractionary regime to an expansionary regime. The study further examines the extent to which changes in monetary policy affect industrial output in expansions relative to contractions. Employing the Peersman and Smets (2001) Markov-Switching Model (MSM) and monthly data from 1994:01 – 2013:12, the study reveals that the five BRICS countries have similar business cycles. The results further demonstrate that the BRICS countries‘ business cycles are characterized by two distinct growth rate phases: a contractionary regime and an expansionary regime. It is observed that area-wide monetary policy has significantly large effects on industrial output in recessions as well as in booms. It is also established that there is a high probability of moving from state 1 (recession) to state 2 (expansion) and that on average, the probabilities of staying in state 2 (expansion) are high for each of the five countries. It is, therefore, recommended that the BRICS countries should sustain uniform policy consistency (monetary policy), especially as they formulate and implement economic policies to stimulate industrial output. The fourth essay (chapter six) investigates the long run and short run dynamics between industrial production and the factors affecting production in the emerging market economies of BRICS countries. Using the Chudik and Pesaran (2013) P-ARDL model and monthly data from 1994:01 – 2013:12, the study finds evidence of a cointegrating relationship between industrial production and selected variables. It is further observed that capital, labour, per capita income and exports have a positive long run impact on industrial production in the BRICS countries. However, a currency appreciation (an increase in the exchange rate) has a negative impact on industrial production. In the short run, it is found that imports, exports, exchange rates, labour, capital and per capita income significantly affect industrial production. The policy implication stemming from the analysis is that a sound economic policy is important for output production and industrialization in BRICS countries while poor policy will result in a nexus of constraintsfrom which escape may be difficult (or impossible). The industrial sector, therefore, should also be listed as a sector that can actualize the diversification process and boost economic performance in the EMEs. There should also be policy consistence in curtailing the declining trend of industrial production. Show less

This study investigates monetary policy shocks and industrial production in BRICS countries. The study is presented in four separate but related essays. The first (chapter three) employs a Panel Structural Vector Autoregressive model (𝑃−𝑆𝑉𝐴𝑅) to investigate how monetary policy shocks affect industrial output Show more