This study examines the challenges and opportunities of electricity generation from coal on growth of South African economy. The study utilizes the available annual time series data collected from secondary sources (World Bank) spanning for the period from 1971 to 2015. The study employs the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model and an Error Correction Model (ECM) to analyse the challenges and opportunities of coal-fired electricity generation on growth South African economy. Statistical results from revealed a positive statistically insignificant short run and positive statistically significant long run relationship between electricity generated from coal and economic growth in South Africa. The policy implication from this study is that the policy makers need to acknowledge the positive contribution of coal-fired electricity generation and revise policies on decommissioning of these powerplants. The policymakers should propose and implement policies that encourage coal-fired electricity generation in a way that is environmentally friendly as it boosts economic growth in South Africa.

This study investigates the relationship between electricity consumption and electricity supply on economic growth in South Africa for the period spanning from 1971 to 2014. The importance of this study is to reveal the short run and long run impact of electricity consumption and electricity supply on economic growth in South Africa. The study borrowed annual time series data from the World Bank online secondary source for the period from 1971 to 2014. Empirical results revealed a positive statistically significant short run relationship and a negative statistically insignificant long run relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth. The results further reveal that renewable electricity has a short run negative statistically significant and positive statistically significant long-run relationship with economic growth in South Africa. Based on empirical results, it can therefore be recommended that the policymakers should implement policies that promotes renewable electricity generation and evaluate policies on electricity consumption so that it can significantly boosts economic growth in the long run.

Analysing air passenger market is an integral part of air transport industry and form part of corporate planning process. This paper seeks to assess the determinants of domestic air passenger demand in the Republic of South Africa. The methodology used involved collection of data for passenger movements in South Africa for the period 1971 -2012 to determine the pattern of air travels. Data on macro and micro-economic variables considered to affect demand for air passenger travel were also collected. Multiple regression method was then used to develop models of demand in respect of air passenger movement. An attempt was made to develop models for domestic air passenger travel demand in the country with different combinations of explanatory variables utilising a stepwise regression technique. The model, which has the total consumption, population size, airfares and oil prices as the explanatory variables, is the most appropriate model to represent the demand for domestic air passenger travel in South Africa. The rest of the models discussed suffer from multicollinearity. The model selected may be used to identify and measure the relations between domestic air passenger demand and the economic and demographic factors in South Africa.

The study investigates if the environmental Kuznets curve hold in South Africa. It employed available annual time series data spanning for the years from 1961 to 2020 collected from World Bank data. The study employs a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) to investigate the short run and long run relationship. The results revealed that the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis hold in South Africa. The policy recommendations are that the policymaker must implement environmentally friendly economic growth to reduce environmental degradation in South Africa.

This study analyses the relationship between CO2 emissions from electricity generation and economic growth in South Africa. The study utilises annual time series data spanning for the period from 1971 to 2014 sourced from the World Bank. The study employs a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) to analyse the short run and long run relationships. Empirical results revealed that there is a negative statistically insignificant short run relationship and long run negative statistically significant relationship between CO2 emissions and economic growth in South Africa. The Granger causality results revealed noncausal relationship between CO2 and economic growth. The policy implication of this study is that Eskom and policy makers must propose and implement policies aimed at reducing CO2 emissions from electricity generation as it will improve economic growth in South Africa.

In this present paper we investigate the relationship between mining infrastructure and economic growth in South Africa from 1980-2013. The importance of this paper is to examine if there is both short and long run significant relationship between mining infrastructure and economic growth in South Africa. The data mining was collected from South African Reserve Bank (SARB) covering the range from 1980-2013 of the paper. Both Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) and Phillip Perron (PP) where used for stationarity tests. Johansen Cointegration test is employed in this paper; also Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) is also employed in this paper. In the results we obtained that there is a positive significant relationship between mining infrastructure and economic growth. There is also a causal relationship between mining infrastructure and economic growth, meaning the development of mining infrastructure does promote economic growth. In conclusion the policy makers should improve private infrastructure which will equip human capital to be more useful in contributing towards knowledge and innovation. This means South African government and mining industry should priorities the development of infrastructure as component that will be sufficient towards economic development.

The study conducts a comparative analysis of the relationship between renewable electricity consumption and economic growth in South Africa and Zimbabwe. The study utilises time series data spanning from 1990 to 2019 collected from the World Bank and International Energy Agency (IEA). The study performed the Dickey-Fuller Generalised Least Squares and Phillips-Perron unit root test, ARDL Bounds test for cointegration and optimal lags models. Empirical results revealed that in the short run renewable electricity consumption has a negative impact on economic growth in both countries. In the long run, however, in South Africa it has a negative statistically significant effect in South Africa and a positive statistically insignificant effect in Zimbabwe on economic growth. The study recommends the revision of renewable electricity policies in both countries to boost economic growth significantly in both countries.

The study examines the oil prices and exchange rate volatilities in South Africa. The study employs monthly time series data spanning for the period from 1960 M1 to 2021M11 using data collected from the SARB. The study employs a TGARCH model to analyse the volatilities between oil prices and exchange rate. The study found that oil prices have a negative statistically significant impact on the exchange rates in South Africa. The study therefore recommends that the monetary authorities must monitor oil prices as they have an ability to cause exchange rate volatilities.