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Local Economic Development: A Review and Assessment of its Current Status in South Africa

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  • Etienne Nel

    (Department of Geography, Rhodes University, PO Box 94, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa, E.Nel@ru.ac.za)

Abstract

In recent years, local economic development (LED) has become a widely practised development strategy in the countries of the North at both the local government and community levels. LED is less widely implemented in the South where, in most instances, it appears to be still in an incipient phase. This paper investigates the current status of LED in South Africa, where, over the past decade, local governments, community groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have become significantly more active in locality-based economic development. Several local governments have established comprehensive LED programmes including the establishment of LED units and the pursuit of a range of developmental strategies, whilst in parallel, an array of community and NGO initiatives are in place. In almost all cases, however, results are still of a rather limited nature and this paper assesses some of the reasons for this situation.

Suggested Citation

  • Etienne Nel, 2001. "Local Economic Development: A Review and Assessment of its Current Status in South Africa," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 38(7), pages 1003-1024, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:38:y:2001:i:7:p:1003-1024
    DOI: 10.1080/00420980120051611
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Tony Bovaird, 1992. "Local Economic Development and the City," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 29(3-4), pages 343-368, May.
    2. Etienne Nel & Graham Humphrys, 1999. "Local economic development: Policy and practice in South Africa," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(2), pages 277-289.
    3. Castillo Manuel, T., 1997. "Promoting local economic development : a review of City Summit best practices," ISS Working Papers - General Series 18984, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
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    Cited by:

    1. Parker, Gail Denise & Costa, King, 2021. "Enhancing Capacity For Local Economic Development In Creating Vibrant, Productive And Sustainable Rural Communities," AfricArxiv q5wx4, Center for Open Science.
    2. Ashley Gunter & Kenneth Manuel, 2016. "A role for housing in development: Using housing as a catalyst for development in South Africa," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 31(1-2), pages 312-321, February.
    3. Riccardo Crescenzi & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2011. "Commentary," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 43(4), pages 773-780, April.
    4. Gerrit van der Waldt, 2018. "Local economic development for urban resilience: The South African experiment," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 33(7), pages 694-709, November.
    5. A.J. Christopher, 2005. "The Slow Pace of Desegregation in South African Cities, 1996-2001," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 42(12), pages 2305-2320, November.
    6. Jonas A. Akudugu, 2018. "Institutionalising local economic development practice in Ghana," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 33(4), pages 405-420, June.
    7. Parker, Gail Denise, 2021. "The Challenge Of Sustainable Land-Based Local Economic Development In Poor Communities Of South Africa: The Case Of Groblershoop, Northern Cape," AfricArxiv rqx9b, Center for Open Science.
    8. Gomez, Georgina M. & Helmsing, A.H.J., 2008. "Selective Spatial Closure and Local Economic Development: What Do We Learn from the Argentine Local Currency Systems?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 2489-2511, November.
    9. Waldo Krugell & W.a. Naudé & Stephanie Rossouw, 2000. "The Quality of Metropolitan City Life in South Africa," Regional and Urban Modeling 283600049, EcoMod.
    10. Hay Anette & Hay Johnnie, 2017. "Indicators of post-productivism in South Africa’s “platteland”: A second home case study of Rosendal, Eastern Free State," Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series, Sciendo, vol. 37(37), pages 35-49, September.
    11. Parker, Gail Denise & Costa, King, 2021. "Mapping The Emergence Of Local Economic Development In South Africa Since The Dawn Of Democracy," AfricArxiv hcxk4, Center for Open Science.
    12. Etienne Nel & Christian M Rogerson, 2016. "The contested trajectory of applied local economic development in South Africa," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 31(1-2), pages 109-123, February.
    13. Etienne Nel, 2009. "Misplaced Expectations? The Experience of Applied Local Economic Development in Post-Apartheid South Africa," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 24(3), pages 224-237, May.
    14. Parker, Gail Denise & Costa, King, 2021. "Drivers For Local Economic Development In South African Municipalities," AfricArxiv x4utw, Center for Open Science.
    15. Sebeka Richard Plaatjie & Sebeka Richard Plaatjie, 2018. "Local Economic Development: A Test for Relevance in South Africa," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 10(5), pages 255-263.
    16. Rogerson Christian M., 2014. "Reframing place-based economic development in South Africa: the example of local economic development," Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series, Sciendo, vol. 24(24), pages 1-16, June.
    17. Akpeko Agbevade, 2020. "Implementation dynamics of local economic development: Comparative empirical experiences from Ghana’s local governance system," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 35(6), pages 609-624, September.
    18. Amon Simba & Zivanayi Francis Nyandoro & Gerald Munyoro & Douglas Chimhande, 2015. "The local economic development processes in low-income countries: The case of the metropolis of Chegutu in Zimbabwe," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 30(4), pages 405-420, June.
    19. Oliver Mtapuri & Mark Anthony Camilleri & Anna Dłużewska, 2022. "Advancing community‐based tourism approaches for the sustainable development of destinations," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(3), pages 423-432, June.
    20. Tony Binns & Etienne Nel, 2002. "Devolving Development: Integrated Development Planning and Developmental Local Government in Post-apartheid South Africa," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(8), pages 921-932.

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