Abstracts

iii PERSPECTIVES Perspectives on Business and Economics is the journal of the Martindale Student Associates Honors Program founded and run by the Martindale Center for the Study of Private Enterprise at Lehigh University. Each year, a faculty panel selects 12 of Lehigh’s finest undergraduate students to become Martindale Student Associates. The students each undertake research focusing on an aspect of the economy and business environment of a foreign nation and prepare articles for publication in this journal. The country of focus changes each year. This cohort’s study of South Africa began in the spring of 2019. After several on-campus orientation seminars, the group made the program’s annual trip to Washington, D.C., for a series of in-depth country briefings at the South African Embassy, USAID, and US Department of State. The cohort also had a rare treat, the opportunity to spend a day in New York City for briefings by the South African Consulate General and CIVICUS, a civil society advocacy group. In May, the Student Associates and faculty advisors traveled to South Africa for an intensive 11 days of travel, meetings, lectures, briefings, and discussions in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Pilanesberg, and Cape Town, with leaders from government, business, and academia whose expertise and enthusiastic participation in and support for the program are key to the success of our mission. Other highlights included a safari in Pilanesberg National Park and a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage site, Cradle of Humankind. Special Thanks The Martindale Center acknowledges the critical role played by alumni, parents, friends, and the many experts in South Africa and the US who gave generously of their time and expertise as advisors, co-organizers, and speakers to help make the 2019–20 program and Volume 38 of this journal a success. Our sincere thanks begin with Martindale alumna Karen O’Donnell VanderGoot '99 (Chile). As division chief for the Conflict, Peacebuilding and Governance Division in the Bureau for Africa at USAID, she brought together several colleagues for a great session in Washington, D.C. Malose Letsoalo, economic minister, arranged our visit to the South African Embassy in Washington, D.C., and also put us in contact with the Department of Trade and Industry in South Africa as well as the Consulate in New York City. Dion van Tonder, consul of the South African Consulate General in New York, deserves special thanks for sharing his time and experience during his visit to Lehigh University and during the student visit to the Consulate; we learned a great deal. His colleague, Gavin du Preez, acting consul general, was a terrific help in reaching out to the Embassy in Washington, D.C., and ministries in Pretoria. Thanks to Mandeep Tiwana, Lyndal Rowlands, and Jeff Huffines of CIVICUS for hosting us at an excellent session and introducing us to the Ditsela Workers Education Institute in South Africa. Colin Sloand '09, partner at Green Hills Capital Partners and founding President of Lehigh’s Microfinance Club, sponsored by the Martindale Center, set up several contacts for us who proved to be terrific, including Jay Kloppenberg, John Stremlau, and Jonathon Berman. Our longstanding partner, PwC, and Christie Viljoen from the Cape Town branch deserve special recognition for their hospitality in hosting a session that gave us great insight into the South African economy. Thanks to Griffith Welton, partner, PwC, New York, for always connecting the Martindale Program to PwC branches in-country. Other partners and speakers who deserve special thanks include Gina Schoeman fromCITI; Lesego Lebuso fromRoyal Bafokeng Holdings; Paul Hoffman, founding director of the Centre for Constitutional Rights; Ralph Hamann, professor, University of Cape Town, Graduate School of Business; Sinenhlanhla Zungu, Lehigh Ph.D. student; and Lebo Mokhohlane, Department of Trade and Industry, South Africa. Although typically we do not thank our travel provider, we must recognize Pieter Geldenhuys and his team at Luxury Safari, including Bianca Smith, Clive De Bruyne, and our guide Gavin Grierson. They were simply first rate. We will never forget the surprise speaker they arranged for our closing banquet, Christo Brand, Nelson Mandela’s longtime prison guard. Finally, we appreciate the constant support of William Hunter, director, Fellowship Advising and UN Programs, Office of International Affairs, Lehigh University, and his deep network of contacts in New York and South Africa.