Infrastructure and Regulation for Economic Development

South Africa has endured sluggish economic growth and rising unemployment for more than a decade despite repeated recognition that enabling industries such as electricity telecommunications and airport transportation are vital drivers of development. Yet progress has often stalled with high costs and delays arising from contested decisions and blurred responsibilities between policymakers and regulators.

This book examines the intricate dynamics within each of these industries while comparing them to reveal how their challenges converge even as their specific emphases differ. Across the sectors, a common theme emerges: institutional weaknesses and fragmented governance have undermined their developmental potential.

This analysis calls for bold institutional reform. It proposes the adoption of a National Regulatory Policy to entrench good practice, establish coherence, and ground the systemic application of the theory of change. Forward-looking and adaptive regulation, anchored in robust institutions, is essential for and can be enabled by shifting mindsets to embrace reforms.

Sets out a framework for institutions and regulation within the Global South that is politically and procedurally sound Shows how economic growth can be based around accountability, productivity, connectivity, and human development Examines the relationship between industry and institutions to evaluate how regulation can maximize economic growth

Autorentext

Robert Nkuna, PhD, is Professor of Practice at North-West University, South Africa. He has also served as Director-General of Communications and Digital Technologies and of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, as well as a councillor of ICASA, South Africa's communications regulator where he was part of its highest decision-making body.

Inhalt

1. Regulation in South Africa's Network Industries A Developmental Challenge.- 2. Analytical and Methodological Understanding Regulation through Institutions, Outcomes and Change.- 3. Why Regulate? Reassessing the Case for Regulation in South Africa's Network Industries.- 4. Neoliberalism, Global Institutions, and the Constitutional Regulatory State.- 5. Regulatory Failure, Transaction Costs and Regulatory Reform.- 6. Regulatory Models and the Productivity Challenge.- 7. Electricity Industry Perspectives on the Existential Challenge of Rising Prices.- 8. Telecommunications Industry Perspectives on the Politics of the Cost of Infrastructure.- 9. Transport and Airports The Political Economy of Airport Infrastructure Regulation.- 10. Cross-Sector Comparison and Patterns of Regulatory Performance.- 11. Digital Tools and the Smart Regulatory Pivot.- 12. Regulating for Results Applying a Theory of Change in South Africa's Network Industries.- 13. Big Data Strategy for Regulatory Reform.- 14. Contesting Development From the Freedom Charter to Treasury's 2019 Reform Proposals.- 15. Conclusions and Recommendations Designing Institutions for Developmental Results.- 16. Epilogue: Praxis and Implications for Broader Economic Governance.