Financial Economics and Financial Literacy

  A social media post recently posed a challenge that has resonated across Africa: "Instead of getting angry at South Africans, how about if we self-introspect and start fixing our countries?" The statement was intended to provoke reflection, particularly in light of growing tensions around migration in Southern Africa. Yet it also raises a deeper question: how does a society begin fixing itself when many citizens feel powerless, unheard, or excluded from meaningful participation in public affairs? This question is particularly relevant for Zimbabwe. For decades, Zimbabweans have debated economic decline, corruption, unemployment, governance challenges, service delivery failures, and the migration of skilled professionals. Yet despite these conversations, many citizens increasingly feel disconnected from the processes through which change is supposed to occur. When people lose confidence that institutions will respond to their concerns, hopelessness begins to take root. One o...

  "The greatest weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed." — Steve Biko Zimbabwe's challenges are often described in economic terms. We discuss inflation, unemployment, currency instability, migration, corruption, and declining public services. Yet beneath these visible problems lies a deeper crisis that receives far less attention: the gradual weakening of civic consciousness. A nation can survive economic hardship. It can recover from poor policy decisions. It can rebuild infrastructure and institutions. What becomes far more difficult to repair is a society that has lost confidence in its own ability to shape its future. For many Zimbabweans, survival has become the dominant national project. When prices rise, people adjust. When public services deteriorate, people adjust. When corruption scandals emerge, people adjust. When young professionals leave the country, people adjust. Over time, adaptation becomes normal and expectations decline. Citi...

  More than 2,000 years ago, Roman poet Juvenal observed a troubling trend in the Roman Empire. He argued that many citizens had become less concerned with governance, public accountability, and political participation. Instead, they were increasingly satisfied with two things: bread and circuses. Bread referred to food handouts and public welfare distributed by political leaders. Circuses referred to entertainment, including gladiator games, chariot races, spectacles, and festivals designed to occupy and amuse the public. Juvenal's concern was not that people enjoyed entertainment. Rather, it was that citizens had become distracted from their role in public life. As long as food and entertainment continued, many people paid less attention to questions of governance, corruption, accountability, and the exercise of power. The phrase "bread and circuses" has survived for centuries because it describes a challenge that extends far beyond Ancient Rome. It raises a timeless qu...

  In the ongoing debate about South Africa’s tax policy, particularly the ANC’s insistence on increasing value added tax (VAT), many people ask the following question: if tax rates are reduced, what will cover the gap in government revenue? This concern is valid but overlooks a crucial economic principle—lower tax rates can lead to increased revenues by stimulating economic growth and expanding the tax base. The Economic Impact of VAT Reduction Reducing the VAT from, for example , 15% to 12% increases disposable income for consumers, making goods and services more affordable. This increased purchasing power fuels consumer spending, which in turn drives demand for goods and services. When businesses experience higher demand, they expand, hire more workers, and invest in growth. More jobs mean higher overall income levels, which contribute to government revenue through personal income taxes and corporate taxes . For businesses, a lower VAT rate reduces operational costs, maki...

Title" Corporate Finance and Financial Development: An Emerging Market Perspective on a Post-Crisis World" Editors: Shame Mugova -Durban University of Technology South Africa Joseph Akande -Namibia University of Science and Technology May you please prepare a topic and abstract only, up to 300 words. You can email your abstract to: mugovas@gmail.com  cc akandeo.joseph@gmail.com Deadline for submission 30 April 2020 None of the content should have been published or under consideration elsewhere. Book series: The book will be published under book series “Contributions to Management Science” (www.springer.com/series/1505) which is indexed in SCOPUS. Book overview This book addresses key issues in corporate finance and explores them from a financial development and financial stability perspectives in emerging markets. Emerging economies are susceptible to rapidly changing financial sectors and products as well as financial upheavals. The global financia...

                                                            There has been debate on whether the fixed exchange rate between bond and the US dollar should continue or the exchange rate should be allowed to freely float. Neither of the two options works because both their effects are the same. The continued use of bond note and RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) is not meant to preserve value or avoid catastrophe. The continued use of the local Zimbabwean currency is a time bomb, the authorities are simply trying to delay the inevitable disaster. The amount of RTGS is not a factor which should stop the demonetization  program. If the amount of RTGS is nine billion, at one point it is going to be thirty billion and probably a trillion, currency reforms should not be deterred by the figure. The authorities need to find a way to ...