Gavin C G Fraser | Rhodes University (original) (raw)
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Papers by Gavin C G Fraser
South African Geographical Journal, 2003
Journal of Economic Issues, 2014
ABSTRACT We apply John R. Commons’s negotiational psychology, specifically his principle of sover... more ABSTRACT We apply John R. Commons’s negotiational psychology, specifically his principle of sovereignty, to the development of a discordant regulatory culture and its likely impact on the economic potential of recreational fishing. Using South African environmental judicial precedents and other documentation, we formulate six plausible hypotheses. We argue that regulatory incoherence, entitlement insecurity, corporate-dominated social valuation, strategic power coalitions, lack of procedural fairness, and the extent of judicial enforcement of environmental rights help explain the economic potential and isolation of the freshwater recreational fisheries sector. We find a consistent pattern of extraction and monopolization of sovereign power by the Department of Mineral Resources from propertied parties. Thus, regulatory domination is a major mechanism affecting the economic potential of recreational fisheries in the Trout Triangle. While Commons postulated that private property is a sufficient condition for participation in the determination and use of sovereign power, we argue that private/public property is only a necessary condition. The conjunctive sufficient condition is the existence of both regulatory coherence between spheres of government and property.
Cambridge Journal of Economics, 2015
My brief was to review the report presented by Prof Fred Hendricks on the "Obstacles to Agri... more My brief was to review the report presented by Prof Fred Hendricks on the "Obstacles to Agricultural Development in the communal Areas of the Eastern Cape". In general, I tend to agree with the comments argued by Prof Hendricks in his report but there are some areas where I have a different point of view, which is in all likelihood the result of differences in our academic background. In this addendum I have made additions to Prof Hendricks' report under the headings that he used. I have also included an additional section on the characterisation of small-scale farmers, which I feel is an important factor in understanding the obstacles faced in developing agriculture in the communal areas of the Eastern Cape.
Poverty in Nigeria is overwhelmingly a rural problem. In 1985, 86.6 percent of those living below... more Poverty in Nigeria is overwhelmingly a rural problem. In 1985, 86.6 percent of those living below poverty line of US 1 per day were in the agricultural sector. This figure dropped to 66 per cent in 1992. However, of the total population of poor people in 1992, 10 million were living in the rural areas and are engaged in farming. Nigerian small-scale farmers are characterized by the use of unimproved inputs and traditional production tools that are capable of generating only very small incomes. This low income of the farmers leads to vicious cycle of poverty with low levels of savings and investments, which in turn leads to low productivity and low income. In explaining the poverty status of farmers, it is necessary to look into the profitability of their farm enterprise to show the close links existing between productivity and farm income. This study attempts to estimate the profitability of sole sorghum production on small and large scale farms, it uses the gross margin analysis to...
African journal of agricultural research
Rural households in developing countries may remain trapped in poverty by a lack of finance neede... more Rural households in developing countries may remain trapped in poverty by a lack of finance needed to undertake profitable investments. Improved access to credit could generate pro-poor economic growth if the credit constraints that poor households faced are relaxed. This study examines the effect of credit constraints on household welfare among the clients of the Eastern Cape Rural Finance Corporation (ECRFC), in the Amathole District Municipality of the Eastern Cape Province. Credit constrained households are identified based on direct elicitation of credit status from survey questions, and then an endogenous switching regression model is used to analyse the effect of credit constraints on the welfare of a representative sample of 150 households. Empirical results indicate that households with older household heads, more access to land, higher value of assets and higher debt repayment capacity are less likely to be credit constrained, and that increased access to credit can improv...
African journal of agricultural research
In explaining the differences in the efficiency of farms, it is necessary to look into the use of... more In explaining the differences in the efficiency of farms, it is necessary to look into the use of resources to show the close links existing between the performance attained from resources on individual farms and efficient allocation of resources between farms of different sizes. This study estimates the productivity of farm resources on small and large scale farms in three villages of Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State. Production data were collected using a structure questionnaire from a representative sample of 78 sorghum farmers. The study used the double log production function to determine the relationship between farm resources and the efficiency of resource use. Empirical results showed that seed, fertilizer and labour inputs are statistically significant in explaining the variation in sorghum output in the study area. However the estimates of the ratio of the marginal value productivities (MVP) and marginal factor cost (MFC), point clearly to the non optimal combina...
Journal of Economic Issues
We apply John R. Commons’s negotiational psychology, specifically his principle of sovereignty, t... more We apply John R. Commons’s negotiational psychology, specifically his principle of sovereignty, to the development of a discordant regulatory culture and its likely impact on the economic potential of recreational fishing. Using South African environmental judicial precedents and other documentation, we formulate six plausible hypotheses. We argue that regulatory incoherence, entitlement insecurity, corporate-dominated social valuation, strategic power coalitions, lack of procedural fairness, and the extent of judicial enforcement of environmental rights help explain the economic potential and isolation of the freshwater recreational fisheries sector. We find a consistent pattern of extraction and monopolization of sovereign power by the Department of Mineral Resources from propertied parties. Thus, regulatory domination is a major mechanism affecting the economic potential of recreational fisheries in the Trout Triangle. While Commons postulated that private property is a sufficien...
Agrekon, 2013
ABSTRACT Fairtrade initially was limited to improving the lives of small-scale and peasant farmer... more ABSTRACT Fairtrade initially was limited to improving the lives of small-scale and peasant farmers, but later on it embraced commercial farmers, which attracted criticism. Whilst there are a number of justifications for the Fairtrade organization’s decision, there are authors who feel that meaningful “fair trade” cannot be achieved with the inclusion of commercial farms. This paper investigates the impact of Fairtrade on commercial farms and small scale farmer cooperatives in South Africa. Fairtrade on South African commercial farms embraces a number of policy concerns related to land reform, BEE and sustainable development. The results of the study show that when commercial farms are included in the Fairtrade model, communities in which these farmers live benefit from developmental projects. In addition, in some instances, farm workers gain shares in the commercial farms, and benefit from the farm owners’ knowledge and capital
In this study growth rates of harvested area, production and productivity of major crops grown in... more In this study growth rates of harvested area, production and productivity of major crops grown in the ten districts of Lesotho are examined. The study reveals that there has been a decline in production of maize, sorghum, beans and peas in almost all districts. The decline in production originated from decreases in yield and harvested areas of these crops. The study further reveals that production of wheat has shown an upward trend in most of the districts of Lesotho. Review of Southern African Studies Volume 3 No. 1 June 1999, pp. 132-145
The election promise of the majority party in the new South African government was to redistribut... more The election promise of the majority party in the new South African government was to redistribute 30% of the agricultural land in the hands of Whites within a period of 5 years. Transfers of land in the Eastern Cape Province are examined as a case study. While 60% of the total number of Eastern Cape farms changed hands over 5 years, these constituted only 19% of the surface area. A large proportion of rural transfers were small (less than 5 hectares) peri-urban properties which cannot all be considered as viable farming units. At average prices about R1 to R2 billion would be required to establish new farmers on land with the necessary livestock, machinery and equipment. Resource poor new entrants would need a major state contribution to make initial entry and subsequent survival feasible. To achieve their goal through market transfers the government would need to either substantially lengthen its time horizon or lower its target. Review of Southern African Studies Volume 3 No. 1 J...
This study investigates the causal link between agricultural foreign direct investment (FDI), agr... more This study investigates the causal link between agricultural foreign direct investment (FDI), agricultural exports, and agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) in South Africa for the period 1994 – 2006. The central goal of this paper is to answer the question of whether there exists any complementary relationships or not between the two sets of variables. The paper utilizes the Granger causality method and the error correction method (ECM), in a bivariate setting. The results show that while there is a bi-directional causality from FDI to exports, there is only one-way causality from GDP to FDI. Rather than FDI stimulating agricultural productivity, agricultural productivity stimulates FDI. Thus, an increase in agricultural productivity is envisaged to yield increased FDI in the agricultural sector of South Africa.
The feasibility of springbuck based meat production in the Eastern Cape Karoo (EC Karoo) was anal... more The feasibility of springbuck based meat production in the Eastern Cape Karoo (EC Karoo) was analysed through a stochastic budgeting model, while overtly taking cost and price risk into consideration. Monte Carlo simulation of a springbuck based meat production enterprise was used to quantify the risks that would be faced by ranchers. Springbuck ranching has been proven a viable alternative in the production of highly nutritious and healthy venison that is in high demand in European markets and more recently with a promising and growing local demand. The results indicate that in the EC Karoo, springbuck ranching for meat production is a viable business. As the call for more environmentally friendly rangeland utilisation economic systems intensifies, rangelands owners in the EC Karoo have a practicable alternative to broaden their incomes with springbuck based meat production.
Property rights are social institutions that define and delimit the range of privileges granted t... more Property rights are social institutions that define and delimit the range of privileges granted to individuals of specific resources, such as land and water. They are the authority to determine different forms of control over resources thus determining the use, benefits and costs resulting from resource use. That is, they clearly specify who can use the resources, who can capture the benefits from the resources, and who should incur costs of any socially harmful impact resulting from the use of a resource. In order to be efficient property rights must be clearly defined by the administering institutions such as state, law and custom. They must be accepted, understood and respected by all the involved individuals and should be enforceable. The property rights influence the behaviour of individuals hence the impact on economic performance and development. The paper has attempted to determine how the situation of property rights to water resources affected the development of smallholde...
South African Geographical Journal, 2003
Journal of Economic Issues, 2014
ABSTRACT We apply John R. Commons’s negotiational psychology, specifically his principle of sover... more ABSTRACT We apply John R. Commons’s negotiational psychology, specifically his principle of sovereignty, to the development of a discordant regulatory culture and its likely impact on the economic potential of recreational fishing. Using South African environmental judicial precedents and other documentation, we formulate six plausible hypotheses. We argue that regulatory incoherence, entitlement insecurity, corporate-dominated social valuation, strategic power coalitions, lack of procedural fairness, and the extent of judicial enforcement of environmental rights help explain the economic potential and isolation of the freshwater recreational fisheries sector. We find a consistent pattern of extraction and monopolization of sovereign power by the Department of Mineral Resources from propertied parties. Thus, regulatory domination is a major mechanism affecting the economic potential of recreational fisheries in the Trout Triangle. While Commons postulated that private property is a sufficient condition for participation in the determination and use of sovereign power, we argue that private/public property is only a necessary condition. The conjunctive sufficient condition is the existence of both regulatory coherence between spheres of government and property.
Cambridge Journal of Economics, 2015
My brief was to review the report presented by Prof Fred Hendricks on the "Obstacles to Agri... more My brief was to review the report presented by Prof Fred Hendricks on the "Obstacles to Agricultural Development in the communal Areas of the Eastern Cape". In general, I tend to agree with the comments argued by Prof Hendricks in his report but there are some areas where I have a different point of view, which is in all likelihood the result of differences in our academic background. In this addendum I have made additions to Prof Hendricks' report under the headings that he used. I have also included an additional section on the characterisation of small-scale farmers, which I feel is an important factor in understanding the obstacles faced in developing agriculture in the communal areas of the Eastern Cape.
Poverty in Nigeria is overwhelmingly a rural problem. In 1985, 86.6 percent of those living below... more Poverty in Nigeria is overwhelmingly a rural problem. In 1985, 86.6 percent of those living below poverty line of US 1 per day were in the agricultural sector. This figure dropped to 66 per cent in 1992. However, of the total population of poor people in 1992, 10 million were living in the rural areas and are engaged in farming. Nigerian small-scale farmers are characterized by the use of unimproved inputs and traditional production tools that are capable of generating only very small incomes. This low income of the farmers leads to vicious cycle of poverty with low levels of savings and investments, which in turn leads to low productivity and low income. In explaining the poverty status of farmers, it is necessary to look into the profitability of their farm enterprise to show the close links existing between productivity and farm income. This study attempts to estimate the profitability of sole sorghum production on small and large scale farms, it uses the gross margin analysis to...
African journal of agricultural research
Rural households in developing countries may remain trapped in poverty by a lack of finance neede... more Rural households in developing countries may remain trapped in poverty by a lack of finance needed to undertake profitable investments. Improved access to credit could generate pro-poor economic growth if the credit constraints that poor households faced are relaxed. This study examines the effect of credit constraints on household welfare among the clients of the Eastern Cape Rural Finance Corporation (ECRFC), in the Amathole District Municipality of the Eastern Cape Province. Credit constrained households are identified based on direct elicitation of credit status from survey questions, and then an endogenous switching regression model is used to analyse the effect of credit constraints on the welfare of a representative sample of 150 households. Empirical results indicate that households with older household heads, more access to land, higher value of assets and higher debt repayment capacity are less likely to be credit constrained, and that increased access to credit can improv...
African journal of agricultural research
In explaining the differences in the efficiency of farms, it is necessary to look into the use of... more In explaining the differences in the efficiency of farms, it is necessary to look into the use of resources to show the close links existing between the performance attained from resources on individual farms and efficient allocation of resources between farms of different sizes. This study estimates the productivity of farm resources on small and large scale farms in three villages of Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State. Production data were collected using a structure questionnaire from a representative sample of 78 sorghum farmers. The study used the double log production function to determine the relationship between farm resources and the efficiency of resource use. Empirical results showed that seed, fertilizer and labour inputs are statistically significant in explaining the variation in sorghum output in the study area. However the estimates of the ratio of the marginal value productivities (MVP) and marginal factor cost (MFC), point clearly to the non optimal combina...
Journal of Economic Issues
We apply John R. Commons’s negotiational psychology, specifically his principle of sovereignty, t... more We apply John R. Commons’s negotiational psychology, specifically his principle of sovereignty, to the development of a discordant regulatory culture and its likely impact on the economic potential of recreational fishing. Using South African environmental judicial precedents and other documentation, we formulate six plausible hypotheses. We argue that regulatory incoherence, entitlement insecurity, corporate-dominated social valuation, strategic power coalitions, lack of procedural fairness, and the extent of judicial enforcement of environmental rights help explain the economic potential and isolation of the freshwater recreational fisheries sector. We find a consistent pattern of extraction and monopolization of sovereign power by the Department of Mineral Resources from propertied parties. Thus, regulatory domination is a major mechanism affecting the economic potential of recreational fisheries in the Trout Triangle. While Commons postulated that private property is a sufficien...
Agrekon, 2013
ABSTRACT Fairtrade initially was limited to improving the lives of small-scale and peasant farmer... more ABSTRACT Fairtrade initially was limited to improving the lives of small-scale and peasant farmers, but later on it embraced commercial farmers, which attracted criticism. Whilst there are a number of justifications for the Fairtrade organization’s decision, there are authors who feel that meaningful “fair trade” cannot be achieved with the inclusion of commercial farms. This paper investigates the impact of Fairtrade on commercial farms and small scale farmer cooperatives in South Africa. Fairtrade on South African commercial farms embraces a number of policy concerns related to land reform, BEE and sustainable development. The results of the study show that when commercial farms are included in the Fairtrade model, communities in which these farmers live benefit from developmental projects. In addition, in some instances, farm workers gain shares in the commercial farms, and benefit from the farm owners’ knowledge and capital
In this study growth rates of harvested area, production and productivity of major crops grown in... more In this study growth rates of harvested area, production and productivity of major crops grown in the ten districts of Lesotho are examined. The study reveals that there has been a decline in production of maize, sorghum, beans and peas in almost all districts. The decline in production originated from decreases in yield and harvested areas of these crops. The study further reveals that production of wheat has shown an upward trend in most of the districts of Lesotho. Review of Southern African Studies Volume 3 No. 1 June 1999, pp. 132-145
The election promise of the majority party in the new South African government was to redistribut... more The election promise of the majority party in the new South African government was to redistribute 30% of the agricultural land in the hands of Whites within a period of 5 years. Transfers of land in the Eastern Cape Province are examined as a case study. While 60% of the total number of Eastern Cape farms changed hands over 5 years, these constituted only 19% of the surface area. A large proportion of rural transfers were small (less than 5 hectares) peri-urban properties which cannot all be considered as viable farming units. At average prices about R1 to R2 billion would be required to establish new farmers on land with the necessary livestock, machinery and equipment. Resource poor new entrants would need a major state contribution to make initial entry and subsequent survival feasible. To achieve their goal through market transfers the government would need to either substantially lengthen its time horizon or lower its target. Review of Southern African Studies Volume 3 No. 1 J...
This study investigates the causal link between agricultural foreign direct investment (FDI), agr... more This study investigates the causal link between agricultural foreign direct investment (FDI), agricultural exports, and agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) in South Africa for the period 1994 – 2006. The central goal of this paper is to answer the question of whether there exists any complementary relationships or not between the two sets of variables. The paper utilizes the Granger causality method and the error correction method (ECM), in a bivariate setting. The results show that while there is a bi-directional causality from FDI to exports, there is only one-way causality from GDP to FDI. Rather than FDI stimulating agricultural productivity, agricultural productivity stimulates FDI. Thus, an increase in agricultural productivity is envisaged to yield increased FDI in the agricultural sector of South Africa.
The feasibility of springbuck based meat production in the Eastern Cape Karoo (EC Karoo) was anal... more The feasibility of springbuck based meat production in the Eastern Cape Karoo (EC Karoo) was analysed through a stochastic budgeting model, while overtly taking cost and price risk into consideration. Monte Carlo simulation of a springbuck based meat production enterprise was used to quantify the risks that would be faced by ranchers. Springbuck ranching has been proven a viable alternative in the production of highly nutritious and healthy venison that is in high demand in European markets and more recently with a promising and growing local demand. The results indicate that in the EC Karoo, springbuck ranching for meat production is a viable business. As the call for more environmentally friendly rangeland utilisation economic systems intensifies, rangelands owners in the EC Karoo have a practicable alternative to broaden their incomes with springbuck based meat production.
Property rights are social institutions that define and delimit the range of privileges granted t... more Property rights are social institutions that define and delimit the range of privileges granted to individuals of specific resources, such as land and water. They are the authority to determine different forms of control over resources thus determining the use, benefits and costs resulting from resource use. That is, they clearly specify who can use the resources, who can capture the benefits from the resources, and who should incur costs of any socially harmful impact resulting from the use of a resource. In order to be efficient property rights must be clearly defined by the administering institutions such as state, law and custom. They must be accepted, understood and respected by all the involved individuals and should be enforceable. The property rights influence the behaviour of individuals hence the impact on economic performance and development. The paper has attempted to determine how the situation of property rights to water resources affected the development of smallholde...