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Cars and clothes in South Africa's Covid experience: The contrasting fortunes of two manufacturing sectors in South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Scully, Ben
  • Mvundura, Wellington
  • Nyirenda, Tessa
  • Tambulu, Bukiwe
  • Zikalala, Usithandile

Abstract

This paper uses the automobile industry and the clothing and textile industry as lenses to examine the impact of the Covid pandemic on globalization. We focus on the case of South Africa, where both sectors have a long history. In the early decades of neoliberal globalization the country's clothing and textile industry declined rapidly and the automobile industry expanded dramatically. The Covid crisis has had an overall negative effect on the economy of South Africa, but in certain respects the trends of these two key manufacturing sectors have reversed. The Automobile sector in the country is stagnating and both firms and government seem unable to take significant action to address the situation. The clothing and textiles industry has stabilized, and even begun to grow, after decades of decline from the 1980s to the 2000s. The pandemic period has seen renewed energy and engagement between firms and government. We analyze the background and Covid experiences of both industries to make sense of the explanation for and implications of this contrast.

Suggested Citation

  • Scully, Ben & Mvundura, Wellington & Nyirenda, Tessa & Tambulu, Bukiwe & Zikalala, Usithandile, 2023. "Cars and clothes in South Africa's Covid experience: The contrasting fortunes of two manufacturing sectors in South Africa," IPE Working Papers 223/2023, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:ipewps:2232023
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anthony Black, 2009. "Location, Automotive Policy, and Multinational Strategy: The Position of South Africa in the Global Industry since 1995," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(3), pages 483-512, September.
    2. David Masondo, 2018. "South African business nanny state: the case of the automotive industrial policy post-apartheid, 1995–2010," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(156), pages 203-222, April.
    3. Edouard Mathieu & Hannah Ritchie & Esteban Ortiz-Ospina & Max Roser & Joe Hasell & Cameron Appel & Charlie Giattino & Lucas Rodés-Guirao, 2021. "A global database of COVID-19 vaccinations," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 5(7), pages 947-953, July.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Covid-19; South Africa; Globalization; Automobile Industry; Clothing and Textile Industry;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L16 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Industrial Organization and Macroeconomics; Macroeconomic Industrial Structure
    • L52 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Industrial Policy; Sectoral Planning Methods
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

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