In recent years, local economic development (LED) has become a widely practised development strategy in the countries of the North at both the local government and community levels. LED is less widely implemented in the South where, in most instances, it appears to be still in an incipient phase. This paper investigates the current status of LED in South Africa, where, over the past decade, local governments, community groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have become significantly more active in locality-based economic development. Several local governments have established comprehensive LED programmes including the establishment of LED units and the pursuit of a range of developmental strategies, whilst in parallel, an array of community and NGO initiatives are in place. In almost all cases, however, results are still of a rather limited nature and this paper assesses some of the reasons for this situation.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Albrechts, L., Moulaert, F., Roberts, P. and Swyngedouw, E. (Eds) (1989) Regional Policy at the Crossroads: European Perspectives. London: Jessica Kingsley.
2.
Anc (African National Congress) (1994) Reconstruction and Development Programme. Johannesburg : ANC.
3.
Anonymous (1997) Municipal submission .
4.
Bennett, R.J. (1990) Decentralization, Local Governments, and Markets: Towards a Post-welfare Agenda. Oxford: Clarendon Press .
5.
Bennett, R.J., and Krebs, G. (1993) Local economic development partnerships: an analysis of policy networks in EC-LEDA local employment development strategies, Regional Studies, 28, pp. 119-140.
6.
Binns, T. (1994) Tropical Africa. London: Routledge .
7.
Binns, T. (ed.) (1995) People and Environment in Africa. Chichester: John Wiley .
8.
Binns, T. and Nel, E.L. (1999) Beyond the development impasse: local economic development and community self-reliance in South Africa, Journal of Modern African Studies, 37, pp.389-408.
9.
Blakely, E.J. (1994) Planning Local Economic Development: Theory and Practice, 2nd edn. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
10.
Bovaird, T. (1992) Local economic development and the city, Urban Studies, 29, pp. 343-368.
11.
Brusco, S. and Righi, E. (1989) Local government, industrial policy and social consensus: the case of Modena (Italy), Economy and Society , 18, pp. 405-424.
12.
Buckland, J., (1998) Social capital and sustainability of NGO intermediated development projects in Bangladesh, Community Development Journal, 33, pp. 236-248.
13.
Burkey, S. (1993) People First: A Guide to Self-reliant Participatory Rural Development. London: Zed Books .
14.
Cape Town Metropolitan Council (1997) Economic and Social Development Committee: Business Plan. Cape Town: CTMC.
15.
Cape Town Olympic Bid Committee (1995) Moving Towards 2004. Cape Town: The Publishing Partnership.
16.
Carter, E., Donald, J. and Squires, J. (Eds) (1993) Space and Place: Theories of Identity and Location. London : Lawrence and Wishart.
17.
Centurion Town Planning Department (1999) Economic Development as a Local Government Function. Unpublished report, Centurion, Pretoria.
18.
City Of Cape Town (1986) Low-cost Job Creation in Cape Town. Cape Town: City Engineer's Department.
19.
Clarke, S.E. and Gaile, G.L. (1992) The next wave: post-federal local economic development strategies, Economic Development Quarterly, 6, pp.187-198.
20.
Clarke, S.E. and Gaile, G.L. (1998) The Work of Cities. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
21.
Daniels, T.L. (1989) Small town economic development: growth or survival? , Journal of Planning Literature, 4, pp. 413-429.
22.
Delany, G. (1997) Local government task team-some reflections. Unpublished paper, Durban.
23.
Demaziere, C. (1996) Introduction, in: C. Demaziere and P. A. Wilson (Eds) Local Economic Development in Europe and the Americas, pp. xii-xx. London: Mansell.
24.
Department Of Constitutional Development ( 1999) Linking Local Economic Development to Poverty Alleviation . Pretoria: Department of Constitutional Development.
25.
Department Of Provincial And Local Government ( 2000) Local Economic Development: Manual Series. Pretoria: Department of Provincial and Local Government .
26.
Department Of Trade And Industry (1997) The State of Small Business in South Africa. Pretoria : Department of Trade and Industry.
27.
Dewar, M.E. (1998) Why state and local economic development programs cause so little economic development, Economic Development Quarterly, 12, pp. 68-87.
28.
Durban Metropolitan Council (1996) Local Government's Role in the Economic Development of the Durban Metropolitan Area, Green Paper, Durban Metropolitan Council .
29.
Economic Development Department (1999) Economic Development Department. Durban: Durban Metropolitan Council.
30.
Emdon, E. (1997) Legal Constraints to Local Economic Development at Local Government Level. Johannesburg: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
31.
Emdon, E. (1999) Regulatory Study on Local Economic Development . Johannesburg: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
32.
Erie, S.P. (1992) How the urban west was won: the local state and economic growth in Los Angeles, 1880-1932, Urban Affairs Quarterly , 27, pp. 519-554.
33.
Escobar, A. (1995) Imaging in a post-development era, in: J. Crush (Ed.) Power of Development, pp. 211-227. London: Routledge.
34.
Ferguson, B.W. (1992) Inducing local growth: two intermediate-sized cities in the state of Parana, Brazil, Third World Planning Review , 14, pp. 245-265.
35.
Filion, P. (1998) Potential and limitations of community economic development: individual initiative and collective, Environment and Planning A, 30, pp. 1101-1124.
36.
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (1999) Local economic development instruments to address economic transformation in South Africa. Unpublished consultancy report, Johannesburg .
37.
Garcia, S. (1993) Local economic policies and social citizenship in Spanish cities, Antipode, 25, pp. 191-205.
38.
Glasson, J. (1992) The fall and rise of regional planning in economically advanced nations, UrbanStudies, 29, pp. 505-531.
39.
Greater Pretoria Metropolitan Council (1999 ) The Directorate: Economic Development. Available at: http://www.pta.ecdev/ecdevl.htm.
40.
Green, G.P., Fleischmann, A. and Kwong, T.M. (1996) The effectiveness of local economic development policies in the 1990s, Social Science Quarterly, 77, pp. 609-625.
41.
Hall, S. (1995) The rise and fall of local economic development? A case study of Dudley MBC, Local Government Studies, 21, pp. 1-10.
42.
Harrison, P. and Naidoo, J. (1999) Port Shepstone. Paper presented at the conference on Local Economic Development in Post-apartheid South Africa, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.
43.
Haughton, G. (1998) Principles and practice of community economic development , Regional Studies, 32, pp. 872-877.
44.
Healey, M.J. and Ilbery, B.W. (1990) Location and Change: Perspectives on Economic Geography . Oxford: Oxford University Press .
45.
Johannesburg Metropolitan Council (1999) Strategic Metropolitan Development Framework Available at: http://www.joburg.org.za/dsimp/html/Development.htm.
46.
Judd, D. and Parkinson, M. (1990) Leadership and Urban Regeneration: Cities in North America and Europe. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
47.
Koeble, C.T. and Bailey, C.L. (1993) Putting targeted economic development to work: the role of targeted marketing in an economic development programme, in: B. P. Meyer (Ed.) Comparative Studies in Local Economic Development, pp. 17-29. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
48.
Led News (1996-99, various issues). Johannesburg: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung .
49.
Lenzi, R.C. (1996) The entrepreneurial community approach to community economic development, Economic Development Review, 14(2), pp. 16-21.
50.
Lester, A., Nel, E. AND Binns, J. (2000) South Africa: Past, Present and Future. Houndsmills: Longman (in press).
51.
Lever, W.F. (1992) Local authority responses to economic changes in west central Scotland, UrbanStudies, 29, pp. 935-948.
52.
Lever, W.F. (1993) Policy instruments in west central Scotland and their local authority context, in: B. P. Meyer (Ed.) Comparative Studies in Local Economic Development , pp. 69-83. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
53.
Maharaj, B. and Ramballi, K. (1998) Local economic development strategies in an emerging democracy: the case of Durban in South Africa, Urban Forum,35, pp. 131-148.
54.
Mandela, M. (1998) Message from President Mandela at the Presidential JobSummit. Midrand: Government of South Africa.
55.
Manuel, T.C. (1997) Promoting local economic development: a review of city summit best practises. Working Paper No. 240, Institute of Social Studies, The Hague.
56.
Mercer, C. (1999) Reconceptualizing state-society relations in Tanzania: are NGOs 'making a difference'?, Area, 31, pp. 247-258.
57.
Mosiane, N.B. (2000) The evolving local economic development process in Mafikeng: a contested terrain between political and profit interests, South African Geographical Journal, 82, pp. 13-20.
58.
Mukhopadhyay, S. (2000) Democratic decentralization and LED: India and South Africa. Seminar presented atRhodes University, Grahamstown.
59.
Nbi (National Business Initiative) (1996) Local Economic Development Training Manual. Johannesburg : National Business Initiative.
60.
Nel, E.L. (1994) Local development initiatives and Stutterheim, Development Southern Africa, 11, pp. 363-377.
61.
Nel, E.L. (1996) Export processing zones in Zimbabwe: establishment considerations, Geographical Journal of Zimbabwe,27, pp. 1-10.
62.
Nel, E.L. (1997) NGO Facilitated Local Economic Development: The Case of Seymour, Urban Forum,8, pp. 227-293.
63.
Nel, E. L. ( 1998) Local economic development in the South African context . Paper delivered at the Local Economic Development Conference, Stutterheim.
64.
Nel, E.L. (1999) Regional and Local Economic Development in South Africa: The Experience of the Eastern Cape. Aldershot: Ashgate.
65.
Nel, E.L. (2000) Economics and economic development, in: R. Fox and K. Rowntree (Eds) The Geography of South Africa in a Changing World , pp. 114-137. Oxford : Oxford University Press.
66.
Nel, E.L. and Humphrys, G. (1999) Local economic development: policy and practice in south Africa, Development Southern Africa, 16, pp.277-289.
67.
Nel, E.L. and Meston, A. (1996) Local economic development in Atlantis, South Africa , GeoJournal, 39, pp. 89-96.
68.
Nel, E.L. and Rogerson, C.M. (1995) Incipient local economic development in the Eastern Cape, 1909-1947, Contree: Journal of South African Urban and Regional History, 37, pp. 1-9.
69.
North Central Regional Center For Rural Development (n.d.) North Central Regional Center for Rural Development. Ames, IA: Iowa State University.
70.
O'Doherty, D.K. and Durrschmidt, J. (1999) Local exchange and trading systems: a useful strand in community economic development policy?, Environment and Planning A, 31, pp. 1639-1654.
71.
Page, M.W. (1996) Locality, housing production and the local state , Environment and Planning D, 14, pp. 181-201.
Razin, E. (1990) Urban economic development in a period of local initiative: competition among towns in Israel's southern coastal plain, UrbanStudies, 27, pp. 685-703.
74.
Reed, D. (1999) Ethics, community development and not-for-profit business, International Journal of Social Economics, 26, pp. 660-674.
75.
Reese, L.A. (1993a) Categories of local economic development techniques: an empirical analysis, Policy Studies General,21, 3, pp. 492-506.
76.
Reese, L.A. (1993b) Local economic development practices across the northern border, Urban Affairs Quarterly, 28, 4, pp. 571-592.
77.
Reese, L.A. and Fasenfest, D. (1996) More of the same: a research note on Local Economic Development policies through time, Economic Development Quarterly , 10, 3, pp. 280-289.
78.
Rich, M.J. (1992) UDAG, economic development, and the death and life of American cities, Economic Development Quarterly, 6, pp. 150-172.
79.
Roberts, P. (1993) Managing the strategic planning and development regions: lessons from a European Perspective, Regional Studies , 27, pp. 759-768.
80.
Rogerson, C.M. (1995a) Local Economic Development Planning in the Developing World, Regional Development Dialogue, 16(2), pp. v-xv.
81.
Rogerson, C.M. (1995b) Local initiatives for urban economic development: the case of Johannesburg. Paper delivered at the International Geographical Union Commission on Urban Development and Urban Life Conference, Cape Town.
82.
Rogerson, C.M. (1997) Local economic development and post-apartheid reconstruction in South Africa, Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 18, pp. 175-195.
83.
Rogerson, C.M. (1999a) Local Government and Job Creation. Paper presented at a Conference on Local Economic Development in Post-apartheid South Africa, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.
84.
Rogerson, C.M. (1999b) Place marketing for local economic development in South Africa, South African Geographical Journal, 81, pp. 32-43.
85.
Rogerson, C.M. (1999c) Local economic development and urban poverty alleviation: the experience of post-apartheid South Africa, Habitat International , 23, pp. 511-534.
86.
Rsa (Republic Of South Africa) (1993) Local Government Transition Act. Act No. 209 of 1993.
87.
Rsa (Republic Of South Africa) (1995) Urban Development Strategy of the Government of National Unity. Government Gazette, Notice No. 16679.
88.
Rsa (Republic Of South Africa) (1996a) The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. Act No. 108 of 1996
89.
Rsa (Republic Of South Africa) (1996b) Growth, Employment and Reconstruction Strategy. Pretoria : RSA.
90.
Rsa (Republic Of South Africa) (1996c) Local Government Transition Act, Act No. 97 of 1996
91.
Rsa (Republic Of South Africa) (1997a) Green Paper on Local Government. Pretoria: Ministry of Provincial Affairs and Constitutional Development .
92.
Rsa (Republic Of South Africa) (1997b) Rural Development Framework. Pretoria: Rural Development Task Team.
93.
Rsa (Republic Of South Africa) (1998) The White Paper on Local Government. Pretoria: Department of Constitutional Development.
94.
Rsa (Republic Of South Africa) (1999) Municipal Systems Bill. Government Gazette, Notice No. 1776.
95.
Sanco (South African National Civic Organisation) (1995) Strategies and Policies for Local Economic Development in the New South Africa. Johannesburg: SANCO/Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
96.
Schuurman, F.J. (1993) Beyond the Development Impasse: New Directions in Development Theory. London: Zed Books.
97.
Siswana, Z. (1999) Cape Town. Paper presented at the Conference on Local Economic Development in Post-Apartheid South Africa, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.
98.
Stock, R. (1995) Africa South of the Sahara: A Geographical Interpretation . New York: Guilford Press.
99.
Stohr W. B. (Ed.) (1990) Global Challenge and Local Response: Initiatives for Economic Regeneration in Contemporary Europe. London: Mansell.
100.
Taylor, D.R.F. and Mackenzie, F. (Eds) (1992) Development from Within: Survival in Rural Africa. London: Routledge .
101.
Turok, I. ( 1989) Evaluation and understanding in local economic policy , Urban Studies, 26, pp.587-606.
102.
Urban Foundation (1994) Local Economic Development: New Strategies and Practical Policies. Johannesburg: Urban Foundation.
103.
Urban Strategy Department (1999) Site Index . Available at: http://www.urbstrat.org.za/Home-Page/SiteIndex.htm .
104.
Wakeford, K. (2000) The State of the Economy. Address delivered at the Port Elizabeth Technikon .
105.
Ward, S.V. (1990) Local industrial promotion and development policies, 1899-1940, Local Economy, 4, pp. 100-118.
106.
Wilson, P.A. (1996a) Empowerment: community economic development from the inside out, UrbanStudies, 33, pp. 617-630.
107.
Wilson, P.A. (1996b) Future direction in local economic development , in: C. Demaziere and P. A. Wilson (Eds) Local Economic Development in Europe and the Americas, pp. 311-320. London: Mansell.
108.
Wilson, P.A. (1996c) Community-based economic development in the USA and Latin America, in: C. Demaziere and P. A. Wilson (Eds) Local Economic Development in Europe and the Americas, pp. 203-212. London : Mansell.
109.
Zaaijer, M. and Sara, L.M. (1993) Local economic development as an instrument for urban poverty alleviation: a case from Lima, Peru, Third World Planning Review, 15, pp. 127-142.
