Unlike existing indexes, which make use of single and limited composite indices – such as the Human Development Index (HDI) – the MREDI accounts for the measurement of multiple socioeconomic variables.
According to Prof Danie Meyer and Mr Jacques de Jongh, researchers in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences on the campus in Vanderbijlpark, the MREDI offers an innovative approach to the difficult process of quantifying the economic developmental progress. By means of the MREDI developmental practitioners are now able to measure and calculate the impact of 18 quantifiable socioeconomic variables, consisting of four sub-dimensions.
The implications of this alternative index are that it could be utilised as a tool for the analysis and measurement of global regional efforts, as well as to compare different economic regions vis-à-vis their level of economic development.
Research in action
In applying the index, the research duo first compared the economic growth among all nine provinces in South Africa. The findings indicated that regions are at different stages of development and that development occurs at a different pace across regions. The study furthermore provided economic development practitioners with detailed insight of the socioeconomic strengths and weaknesses of the respective provinces, making it easier to identify where interventions are required.
Recently Prof Meyer and Mr De Jongh applied the index to all the metropolitan regions in South Africa in an effort to compare the multi-dimensional development in these metropolitan regions from 1997 to 2017.
According to Prof Meyer there is an increasing awareness globally that regional development is a leading driver of national and international progress. “We live in a globalised world where countries and their state organs have continuously struggled to maintain national and local identities,” he says. He further explains that growing international cooperation, trade and the dismantling of various geographic boundaries have imposed a myriad of implications for countries and their development endeavours.
This is especially true for countries in the earliest and middle stages of their own economic and social progress, such as South Africa. Implications include continuously changing economic structures and the concentration of resources to specific regions. The latter has seen many societies become increasingly vulnerable to economic marginalisation.
Measuring and assessing SA’s eight metropolitan regions
The primary aim of Prof Meyer and Mr De Jongh’s study with regards to measuring and assessing the regional development progress made within the eight metropolitan regions in South Africa was to reflect on the impact of the country’s transition to democracy.
Mr De Jongh explains that these metropolitan areas all make a noteworthy contribution to South Africa’s unique path of urbanisation and development. “While metropolitan areas in developing countries generally play an enormous role towards social transformation, the development of South Africa’s metropolises have had a somewhat intricate history owing to a complex political, institutional and geographical background,” he elaborates.
Having said this, the different metropolises provided a unique and multifaceted framework that allowed for the comprehensive testing of the MREDI.
The project findings indicated that most of the metropolises significantly improved in terms of social development while most of the regions lost ground concerning the economic and labour sub-indexes. In ranking the metropolises, the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (TSH) leads the charge in terms of development followed by the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality (JHB) and the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality (CPT) in third place.
Prof Danie Meyer and Mr Jacques de Jongh.
