ECONOMIC GROWTH CENTER
                                
                        YALE UNIVERSITY
                                
                                
                        P.O. Box 208269
                      27 Hillhouse Avenue
               New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8269
                                
                                
                                
                                
                CENTER DISCUSSION PAPER NO. 796
                                
                                
                                
                                
          SANCTIONS ON SOUTH AFRICA: WHAT DID THEY DO?
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                         Philip I. Levy
                                
                        Yale University
                                
                                
                                
                                
                         February 1999

     




  Note: Center Discussion Papers are preliminary materials circulated to stimulate discussions and
        critical comments.






          SANCTIONS ON SOUTH AFRICA: WHAT DID THEY DO?
                                
                                
                                
                         Philip I. Levy
                        Yale University
                                
                                
                         February 1999




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.

Keywords: Sanctions, South Africa, Political Economy, Trade
J.E.L. classification: F14