Running head: A REVIEW OF THE ARTICLE 1

A Review of the Article “Measurement of the Enabling Environment: A Comparative Study in a

Developing Region”

Student’s name

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A REVIEW OF THE ARTICLE 2

A Review of the Article “Measurement of the Enabling Environment: A Comparative Study in a

Developing Region”

Introduction

In the year 2016, Daniel Francois Meyer and Jan Roan Neethling from North-West

University in South Africa conducted a research on the correlation between the local

government’s capacity to provide enabling development environment and local economic

development. To measure the enabling development environment of a local unit and establish its

correlation with economic growth, Meyer and Neethling (2017) carried out a survey in the

Sedibeng District Municipality. Their research focused on gathering the perception of the local

business owners in order to measure the enabling environment of the three municipalities located

in Sedibeng.

Purpose of the Research

Meyer and Neethling (2017) recognized the widespread poverty in the South African

region which has been studied to have a strong linkage with the incapacity of the local

government units to provide efficient basic services’ delivery, as well as the lack of suitable

socioeconomic conditions that could sustain and leverage the local economy. In any study

concerning the district economic environments, the local business sector is considered to be of

fundamental importance in attaining positive economic development (Meyer & Neethling, 2017).

Acknowledging the value of the local business sector in advancing the economic status of a

community, the researchers, through the aide of previous studies on enabling environment, were

able to establish the relevance of the local government and other community stakeholders’

assistance in laying the foundation of an enabling environment.

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Through comparative analysis, Meyer and Neethling (2017) sought to determine whether

a local government’s capacity to provide basic services and impel an enabling environment could

lead to aggravated economic development within the locale. This research aimed to build a

correlation between the levels of enabling environment instituted by the local government and

the degree of economic growth within a specific region. Meyer and Neethling (2017) first

determined the role of the municipal government and its legal obligations concerned with the

promotion of economic expansion through regulations and policies that ensure the provision of

efficient basic services’ delivery. Following such, the researchers also outlined the twelve factors

that contribute to the development of an enabling environment within the local setting.

Theories

No specific theories and frameworks were discussed in the research article. Meyer and

Neethling (2017) used various economic development indicators such as the Human

Development Index, Gini Coefficient, Unemployment rates, and Tress Index that explain the

performance extent of the municipalities studied in the article. Although there is no explicit

conceptual or theoretical framework designed and mentioned by the researchers, the reader can

decipher such framework while reading the entire article.

However, the lack of explicit identification and discussion of theories that could support

the findings of the researchers strips away the provision of comprehensive and complex

understanding of the analysis conducted. The indicators identified by the researchers are not

enough to explain the complicated relationship between the enabling environment and the

economic growth of a certain local community. Without a solid theory to support the data and

the numeric variables presented in the article, the researchers cannot build a solid correlation that
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can add relevant knowledge to the pool of studies concerning the same topic they inquired, and

why and how their gathered data supports their hypothesis.

Research Method

To determine whether enabling environment and provision of basic services lead to

positive economic growth, Meyer and Neethling (2017) conducted a survey on 200 business

owners wherein they aimed to identify the perceptions of the respondents on the local

government’s capacity and initiative to create an enabling environment within the local

community. The study was designed as quantitative correlational research as it aims to

determine whether an increase in the capacity of the local municipality to provide basic services

and sustain enabling environment corresponds with an increase in the economic development

within the community. Such a investigation, therefore, sought to identify the positive correlation

between the identified variables.

Primary data were obtained from the respondents within the Sedibeng District

Municipality wherein 100 business owners were from Emfuleni Local Municipality, 50 from

Midvaal Local Municipality, and another 50 from the Lesedi Local Municipality. Selection of

the study area in the article based on the fact that the researchers live within Sedibeng makes the

authors somehow biased despite their provision of another reason which is the number of

protests occurring in the Sedibeng District Municipality. The process of selection, however, was

not mentioned in the article. With regards to the calculation of sample size, the researchers

should have identified the confidence level and the margin of error they wish to operate within.

Meyer and Neethling (2017) simply stated that 10% of the population was identified to be the

sample size when it is of vital importance to consider the margin of error and confidence level in

calculating the survey sample size (Taherdoost, 2017) . The authors also failed to take into
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account the response rate in assessing the number of business owners they need to invite to take

the survey.

To quantify the perceptions of the business owners, Meyer and Neethling (2017) made

use of five-point Likert scale with the gathered data analyzed using Statistical Package for Social

Sciences 22. The questionnaire also consisted of descriptive and close-ended questions. With

regards to how Meyer and Neethling (2017) held the interview, no specific method was

mentioned whether it was thru personal meetings or phone calls. Given that the respondents

accommodated and accepted the researchers, it can be deduced that the business owners

willingly allowed themselves to be interviewed and as a general protocol, the interviewer must

have also informed the survey participants on their privacy rights and that all recorded answers

will be published with their identities secured (Halej, 2017).

Results

The results of the study show that there is indeed a positive correlation between the

service delivery and creation of an enabling environment in advancing the development of a

local community. Based on the data presented in the article, the Midvaal Municipality was

significantly ahead of the two other municipalities. Midvaal Municipality, contrary to the two

other municipalities, was able to provide excellent service delivery and positively support the

factors contributing to the creation of enabling environment. Midvaal’s capacity to provide an

enabling environment significantly influenced the reduction of poverty rates, unemployment, and

inequality within the locality, making it the best performing municipality within Sedibeng

(Meyer & Neethling, 2017).

From the empirical results obtained by the researchers, it is apparent that if the enabling

environment is well supported and provided by the local government, any community can
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experience an overall positive economic growth and development as evident in the excellent

quality of standards of living and degree of municipal development. Although the study validated

the hypothesis of Meyer and Neethling (2017), the main concern in their research is the lack of

the test of significance. The test of significance statistically determines whether the observed

differences in the comparative analysis of the three municipalities are as significant as what the

researchers interpret.

Summary

Review of the article shows that although Meyer and Neethling (2017) were able to prove

the positive correlation between service delivery and enabling environment in increasing the

overall socioeconomic development of a local community, the study still has some notable

limitations which they could have addressed in order to make their findings more relevant. The

authors seem to imply in their conclusion that the results they obtained represent the much larger

population when, in fact, their findings are only applicable in the context of the South African

region. Nevertheless, the study conducted by Meyer and Neethling provides valuable insights

about the crucial role of the local government in providing an enabling development

environment where the business sectors, as well as the whole community, can all prosper and

reach positive economic growth.

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References

Halej, J. (2017). Ethics in primary research (focus groups, interviews and surveys). Research and

data briefing Equality Challenge Unit, 3-12.

Meyer, D. F., & Neethling, J. R. (2017). Meaurement of the Enabling Developmental

Environment: a Comparative Study in a Developing Region. Economics &

Sociology, 10(4), 67-82.

Taherdoost, H. (2017). Determining Sample Size; How to Calculate Survey Sample Size.

International Journal of Economics and Management Systems, 237-239.