An institutional economics approach to agribusiness in development : South African case studies

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:This dissertation is a sojourn into institutional economics and its application tocontemporary economic and development issues in South Africa. Economicdevelopment initiatives in agribusiness have much to gain from the theories andapproaches advanced by the new institutional economics. Institutions are consideredessential to the functioning of economies, markets and organizations, despite itsneglect in neoclassical economics The study intends to prove that 'institutions matter',especially when social and economic transformation is necessary. The cases studiedexhibit how institutions matter and shape economic outcomes.The theoretical basis established in this thesis was applied to economic developmentchallenges such as contracting, organizational innovation, economic empowerment,land reform, building social capital, organizational design, supply chain management,entrepreneurial development, and modes of constructive engagement. The thesis is acompilation of academic papers applied to the various selected developmentalchallenges prevalent in South African agriculture.The study begins by delving into the more popular New Institutional Economicsliterature and specifically transaction cost economics. Somewhat unexpectedly, thisleads to a greater appreciation for the insights generated by the Old Institutionalists ininvestigating the nature of institutions. Hence, the old institutional economics gainsprominence in the latter part of this work, contrary to contemporary approachesfollowed in agricultural economics. The acknowledgement given to aspects like socialcapital and embeddedness is consistent with Williamson's proposed framework forthe economics of institutions and this is used as the conceptual framework in thisthesis.Whereas the new institutional economics was found to be useful in yieldingknowledge through analysis and remediable outcomes, the old institutional economicsretains its advantage in promoting understanding of problems especially in the face ofcomplexity. This inclination has influenced the thesis in two ways. First, it divertedthe latter part of the work towards the old institutional economics and the role ofsocial capital in shaping institutions and economic behaviour. Second, it reverts to theories on the nature of the firm that complements the transaction cost approach. Thetransaction costs approach is thus only used where it is found most effective i.e.analysing vertical integration between firms and the relevant ex ante incentives andthe ex post governance aspectsMost studies are motivated by a general recognition of the role of institutions inframing economic outcomes and end up in the new institutional economics andsubsequently transactions cost economics. This favouring of the transaction costapproach has found appeal due to its ability to predict structural and organisationaloutcomes such as the efficient boundaries of firms, internal organisation, contractualrelations, incentives, etc. Methodologically, it enables analysts to employ theempirical and mathematical rigour that has become a feature, but too often thepurpose, of economic research. Three papers are devoted to this approach and elicitorganisational designs that best contend with identified transaction costs.The study confirms that several aspects matter in institutional analysis when appliedin an economic developmental context such as South Africa. Historical context isacknowledged as a critical facet of institutional analyses in the sense that institutionsare shaped by the forces of history. Social capital is established as an importantcomponent of institutional economic analysis and particularly relevant in situationswhere social capital has been eroded by political economic manipulations. Attendingto social capital require (inter alia) insight into the nature of the societal context,implied path dependency, the extent of trust, enforcement mechanisms, and agencyrelations. Three of the papers attend to these aspects.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University