a b s t r a c tWhile a mega-sport event is scheduled at least once every year somewhere in the world, these events are rare occurrences for the host cities and countries. The benefits of such events seem lucrative; the very fact that many countries bid to host these events suggests that the benefits e be they tangible or intangible e more often than not outweigh the costs. Using a standard gravity model of bilateral tourism flows between 200 countries from 1995 to 2006, this paper measures a very direct benefit of such megaevents: the increase in tourist arrivals to the host country. In general, the results suggest that mega-sport events promote tourism but the gain varies depending on the type of mega-event, the participating countries and whether the event is held during the peak season or off-season.

This article investigates the effects of security threats, namely terrorism, crime, and corruption, on international tourist flows. We estimate a gravity model to evaluate differences in the instability measures between country pairs quantifying not only how security threats in the host country have a negative effect on inbound tourism but also how conditions in the origin country also determine tourism flows to a particular destination. Results show that tourists prefer traveling to countries with similar levels of safety and security as exist in their origin country. Moreover, an asymmetric effect has been found. That is, tourists from stable countries prefer traveling to countries with the same conditions, while tourists from unstable countries are more tolerant with insecurity at the destination country. Finally, we find that greater knowledge about the destination country reduces the negative effect of security threats on inbound tourism.

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Infrastructure investment, especially in South Africa, is currently at the forefront of policy and public debate. But the term 'infrastructure' has a variety of definitions and interpretations; the reason for the various definitions is related to infrastructure's various impacts and incidence. Three levels of infrastructure are identified: local, national and transnational. Infrastructure at all three levels are subject to certain market failures which require some form of government intervention. Furthermore, theory postulates a number of benefits from infrastructure, both on economic growth and equity. Both the quantity (access to infrastructure) and quality (reliability of infrastructure or accompanying services) are important. Finally, empirical analysis tests whether these theoretical benefits are indeed realised. However, it seems as though infrastructure empirics are subject to a number of serious limitations. Copyright (c) 2006 The Author. Journal compilation (c) 2006 Economic Society of South Africa.

How comfortable was the life of the average settler in the Dutch Cape Colony of the eighteenth century? The generally accepted view is of a poor, subsistence economy, with little progress being made in the 143 years of Dutch rule (1652–1795). This article shows that new evidence from probate inventory and auction roll records contradicts earlier historical accounts. These documents bear witness to a relatively affluent settler society, comparable to some of the most prosperous regions of eighteenth‐century England and Holland. This detailed picture of the material wealth of the Colony should inspire a revision of the standard accounts. The causes and consequences of this prosperity are also considered briefly.