Local economic development in a border town: The case of Outapi, Namibia
| dc.contributor.advisor | Van Rooyen, D. | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.author | Nangolo, Petrus-Canisius | en_ZA |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-08-28T13:31:40Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-08-28T13:31:40Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2022 | en_ZA |
| dc.description | Dissertation (MDS (Development Studies))--University of the Free State, 2022 | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | Background: A border town is a town close to the boundary between two countries, states, or regions. In the eighteenth century, several border towns emerged, for example, a regional border town George Town in the United States (Zhao et al., 2019). Another border town that has seen the agglomeration of economic activities is Hong Kong which borders markets in China (Baird & Cansong, 2017). In these border towns, there are common characteristics of economic growth heavily influenced by local economic development (Naijman & Shepherd, 2015). The growth of local economies in these border towns was influenced by various factors, among others, the presence of skilled traders involved in economic activities that resulted in some border towns experiencing growth in their local economies (Baird & Cansong, 2017). However, not all border towns experience growth in their local economies. Some border towns are declining in terms of their local economic growth due to various reasons and challenges. On the other hand, border towns that grew their local economies and turned them into border markets also face various challenges. Local economic development (LED) is a driving tool behind local growth in border markets because it can bring together all LED-implementing stakeholders. LED stakeholders play a very important role in the success of local economic development in their respective border towns. The role of various stakeholders assists in assessing the towns' competitiveness. Stakeholders, since some of them are residents of the border town, can apply their trading skills, suggest various agglomeration of economic activities, and provide a conducive trading environment through a cordial host-guest relationship (Walther, 2014). Generally, in addition to the role of LED stakeholders, sound administrative governance ensures the flourishing of trade activities in border towns (Dobler, 2009). The implementation of LED in some border towns experiences challenges. These challenges, among others, include a sudden decline in economic activities in border towns (border market) (He et al., 2020). In some cases, the sudden decline of economic activities in border towns is associated with the lack of local trading skills (He et al., 2020). In some cases, the lack of local economic performance is exacerbated by the lack of economic multipliers, which increases local economies' inability to offer different opportunities. However, a diversified economy needs trading skills and innovation of the traders to capitalize on those economic multipliers or else the local economy is doomed to fail. Poor competitiveness and the lack of business innovations in border towns also contribute to the decline of local economies (Mwinga et al., 2018). In some cases, the externalities like geopolitics and double standards can lead to a sudden decline in economic activities in border towns (Baird & Cansong, 2017). This myriad of challenges causes the collapse of some border markets, while they inhibit many border towns from growing their local economies and transforming themselves into competitive border markets. | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11660/12157 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | University of the Free State | en_ZA |
| dc.rights.holder | University of the Free State | en_ZA |
| dc.title | Local economic development in a border town: The case of Outapi, Namibia | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Dissertation | en_ZA |
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