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Sanctions on South Africa: What Did They Do

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  • Philip I. Levy

Abstract

This paper considers the economic sanctions that were applied in the mid-1980s to pressure the South African government to end apartheid. It asks what role those sanctions played in the eventual demise of the apartheid regime and concludes that the role was probably very small. An alternative explanation for the regime change is offered: the communist bloc combined to bring about the change. If one is to argue for the efficacy of sanctions, two key obstacles are their limited economic impact and the substantial lag between the imposition of sanctions and the political change. Since sanctions preceded the change of government, it is impossible to rule them out as a determinant. However, their principal effect was probably psychological. The implication is that the South African case should not serve as the lone major instance of effective sanctions.

Suggested Citation

  • Philip I. Levy, 1999. "Sanctions on South Africa: What Did They Do," Working Papers 796, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.
    • Handle: RePEc:egc:wpaper:796
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    File URL: http://www.econ.yale.edu/growth_pdf/cdp796.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kaemfer, William H & Lowenberg, Anton D, 1988. "The Theory of International Economic Sanctions: A Public Choice Approach," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(4), pages 786-793, September.
    2. Anton D. Lowenberg, 1997. "Why South Africa'S Apartheid Economy Failed," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 15(3), pages 62-72, July.
    3. Gary Clyde Hufbauer & Jeffrey J. Schott & Kimberly Ann Elliott, 2009. "Economic Sanctions Reconsidered, 3rd Edition (paper)," Peterson Institute Press: All Books, Peterson Institute for International Economics, number 4129, October.
    4. M. Lipton, 1989. "The Challenge of Sanctions1," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 57(4), pages 227-240, December.
    5. Gary Clyde Hufbauer & Jeffrey J. Schott & Kimberly Ann Elliott, 1990. "Economic Sanctions Reconsidered: 2nd Edition," Peterson Institute Press: All Books, Peterson Institute for International Economics, number 82, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yongzheng Yang, 2000. "Food Embargoes against China: Their Likelihood and Potential Consequences," Asia Pacific Economic Papers 304, Australia-Japan Research Centre, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    2. Andrew Phiri, 2017. "Long-run equilibrium adjustment between inflation and stock market returns in South Africa: a nonlinear perspective," International Journal of Sustainable Economy, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 9(1), pages 19-33.
    3. Jamal Ibrahim Haidar, 2017. "Sanctions and export deflection: evidence from Iran," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 32(90), pages 319-355.
    4. Barnard, Helena & Luiz, John M., 2018. "Escape FDI and the dynamics of a cumulative process of institutional misalignment and contestation: Stress, strain and failure," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(5), pages 605-619.
    5. Chirwa, Themba G. & Odhiambo, Nicholas M., 2016. "What Drives Long-Run Economic Growth? Empirical Evidence from South Africa," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 69(4), pages 429-456.
    6. Lee, Yong Suk, 2018. "International isolation and regional inequality: Evidence from sanctions on North Korea," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 34-51.
    7. Dizaji, S.F. & Lis, P. & Murshed, S.M. & Zweiri, M., 2020. "What the political economy literature tells us about blockades and sanctions," ISS Working Papers - General Series 130655, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    8. Axel Dreher & Matthew Gould & Matthew Rablen & James Vreeland, 2014. "The determinants of election to the United Nations Security Council," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 51-83, January.
    9. Jerg Gutmann & Matthias Neuenkirch & Florian Neumeier, 2022. "Do China and Russia Undermine US Sanctions? Evidence from DiD and Event Study Estimation," CESifo Working Paper Series 10100, CESifo.
    10. Ross D. Weiner & Trevor Roxo & Mitchell Kellman, 2008. "South Africa's Manufactured International Trade in the Post-Sanctions Epoch: Patterns and Potentials," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 52(1), pages 86-95, March.
    11. Torfinn Harding & Jørn Rattsø, 2005. "The Barrier Model of Productivity Growth: South Africa," Working Paper Series 4805, Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
    12. Alexander Kriebitz & Laud Ammah, 2020. "Statistical Capacity, Human Rights and FDI in Sub-Saharan Africa Patterns of FDI Attraction in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Management and Sustainability, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 10(1), pages 162-162, July.
    13. Haroon Bhorat & François Steenkamp & Christopher Rooney & Nomsa Kachingwe & Adrienne Lees, 2016. "Understanding and characterizing the services sector in South Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series 157, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    14. Coulibaly, Brahima, 2009. "Effects of financial autarky and integration: The case of the South Africa embargo," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 454-478, April.
    15. Lorenzo Rotunno & Pierre-Louis Vézina, 2017. "Israel’s open-secret trade," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 153(2), pages 233-248, May.
    16. Owen Crankshaw & Jacqueline Borel-Saladin, 2014. "Does Deindustrialisation Cause Social Polarisation in Global Cities?," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 46(8), pages 1852-1872, August.
    17. Haroon Bhorat & François Steenkamp & Christopher Rooney & Nomsa Kachingwe & Adrienne Lees, 2016. "Understanding and characterizing the services sector in South Africa: An overview," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-157, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    18. Ralph, Lauren, 2019. "In Consideration of Economic Sanctions," Studies in Applied Economics 131, The Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise.
    19. Ryan Yu-Lin Liou & Amanda Murdie & Dursun Peksen, 2023. "Pressures From Home and Abroad: Economic Sanctions and Target Government Response to Domestic Campaigns," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 67(2-3), pages 297-325, February.
    20. Solomon Major & Anthony J. McGann, 2005. "Caught in the Crossfire," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 49(3), pages 337-359, June.
    21. Hyejin Kim & Jungmin Lee, 2021. "The Economic Costs of Diplomatic Conflict: Evidence from the South Korea–China THAAD Dispute," Korean Economic Review, Korean Economic Association, vol. 37, pages 225-262.
    22. Hyejin Kim & Jungmin Lee, 2020. "The Economic Costs of Diplomatic Conflict," Working Papers 2020-25, Economic Research Institute, Bank of Korea.
    23. Mikhail Mamonov & Anna Pestova, 2023. "The Price of War: Macroeconomic and Cross-Sectional Effects of Sanctions on Russia," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp756, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    24. Viorel Mionel & Oana Mionel & Alexandra Moraru, 2017. "The Price Volatility of Precious Metals in Times of Economic and Geopolitical Crisis," Academic Journal of Economic Studies, Faculty of Finance, Banking and Accountancy Bucharest,"Dimitrie Cantemir" Christian University Bucharest, vol. 3(3), pages 87-91, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Keywords: Sanctions; South Africa; Political Economy; Trade;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade

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