Issue #2 (Volume 20 2021)

The article identifies areas for strengthening the information value of non-financial reporting data, in particular in terms of its fiscal issues. The author substantiates the issues of disclosure of data on the impact of uncertainty on the entities’ activities based on the results of the analysis of scientific publications and generally accepted international documents. It is proved that high-quality non-financial reporting can serve as one of the tools for attracting additional funding for eliminating the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The article highlights the results of the analysis of non-financial reporting of state-owned enterprises to identify data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their activities and compliance with the list of sustainability reporting indicators defined in the document “Guidance on core indicators for entity reporting on contribution towards implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals”, developed by UNCTAD ISAR. The paper substantiates that non-financial reporting data can serves as one of the information sources for decision-making at the state level in terms of avoiding fiscal risks (management report, report on payments to government). The core research methods used in the article: bibliometric analysis; synthesis; observation.

The objective of this paper was to explore the effect of government expenditure growth on macroeconomic stability in Zimbabwe. Public expenditure has grown over time but as per a priori expectations, other macroeconomic variables have not been forth coming. What the country has actually experienced is prolonged macroeconomic instability. The paper contributes to the body of literature in two ways, (1) by creating a macroeconomic instability index and (2) by being the first in the Zimbabwean context to explore this conundrum. To achieve the main objective of the paper, the study used a cointegrated vector error correction model (VECM) and Granger causality with data spanning 1981 to 2019. The study did not find a statistically significant relationship between government expenditure and macroeconomic stability as argued mostly by the Keynesians. However, according to a priori expectations, the relationship turned out to be rightly negative. To buttress the Cointegrated-VECM results, granger causality tests were also conducted where no causality was found from government spending to macroeconomic stability, and vice versa (causality running from instability to government spending). This paper recommends that, Zimbabwe’s policy makers may need to consider proactive government spending or policies, since that helps the economy to successfully avoid possible risks such as macroeconomic instability. When policies are proactive rather than reactive, that helps by seizing untapped opportunities, and the economy justly avoids consequences of reactive governance.

An excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages to reduce excessive sugar consumption in South Africa came into effect on 1 April 2018. This study aimed to investigate perceptions of a limited sample of South Africans regarding the sugar-sweetened beverages tax based on certain economic factors, and whether participants perceived any likely benefit from the tax. These perceptions were compared with perceptions identified in selected foreign jurisdictions that have levied such a tax. A survey questionnaire was selected as the primary method of data collection. This questionnaire was administered to post-graduate Accounting students, aged twenty-one years and older, studying at three residential universities in South Africa. An extensive analysis of literature available on sugar-sweetened beverage taxes, both locally and internationally, was conducted. The two main constructs (construct 1: perception of the sugar-sweetened beverage tax and the price of sugar-sweetened beverages and construct 2: the social impact of the sugar-sweetened beverage tax) were analyzed using descriptive statistics. This study found that there is a significant association between gender and perception that the sugary beverage levy will be beneficial to health, with female perceptions of the benefit of the sugary beverage levy being greater than that of males. The study found that perception of the sugar-sweetened beverage tax may depend on several factors, closely linked to individual beliefs and cultures, and thus different populations may have different perceptions of the tax. The findings about sugar-sweetened beverage consumption trends across gender, ethnicities and physical activity groups can help guide targeted strategies to reduce consumption.

The sudden outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to pose a threat to human survival as nations around the world battle to survive in the face of this unwanted invisible enemy. Apart from its devastating effects on public health, the COVID-19 pandemic has crippled the economy of many developed and developing nations, including South Africa. The paper analyzed the costs of the COVID-19 pandemic on South African education and literacy, manufacturing, employment generation, and foreign direct investment, among others. This study employed discourse analysis to examine some of the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. Dubbed as a rainbow nation with one of the most advanced economy, South Africa is currently faced with the twin problem of being the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa and having to cater for millions of unemployed citizens who depend solely on social welfare services. The review revealed that South Africa has been mostly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the effects on socio-economic activities in the country were more severe compared to other nations within the SADC region. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed how susceptible the South African economy is in the face of emergencies, despite its enormous economic immensity. The government and policymakers must come up with viable economic recovery plans, and these plans must be sustainable to ensure that the country does not slump back into recession in the event of another pandemic. The government at all levels should design relief programs targeting those who might have lost their basic livelihoods, be they employment or businesses, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.