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This study has been assembled and completed under the book format. The work in this study was carried out as part of a master's degree at the North-West University, and forms part of a Master of Commerce in Economics. The theoretical work undertaken in this study was done in collaboration with the School of Economic Sciences, under the supervision of Prof Gary van Vuuren and the co-supervision of Prof Wilma Viviers.These studies represent the original work of the author and have not been submitted in any form to another university. Where use was made of the work of others, this has been duly acknowledged in the text. All data used during the course of this study were obtained from the IRESS database and any additional data obtained from third party sources were duly acknowledged within the body of the study.The results obtained from this dissertation and the contributions they make to the existing body of knowledge are summarised in Chapter 6, which also assesses future research opportunities.