Econ3x3
Realizing socioeconomic rights with a limited budget
24th November 2023 The South African constitution is considered progressive and transformative in intention due to its inclusion of socioeconomic rights, such as the... →
Will the avian influenza fuel food inflation?
8th November 2023 The avian flu currently spreading across South Africa has raised concerns about the potential uptick in food inflation. However, it may be too... →
Why the township economy matters
24th August 2023 Nearly half the working-age population and nearly two-thirds of the unemployed live in areas designated as townships under apartheid spatial laws.... →
How to tackle low labour utilisation in South Africa
11th August 2023 South Africa’s low labour utilisation rate is a stark outlier by international standards, made even more unusual because achieving job creation and... →
Why SA needs to boost exports
28th July 2023 South Africa’s exports have lagged behind the rest of the world over recent decades, and this has likely constrained overall economic growth. To... →
New vaping tax misses the mark
11th July 2023 The vaping industry has vociferously opposed a new tax on vaping products. But only the largest containers of e-liquid will feel hefty price... →
The Social Relief of Distress Grant: how it stimulated local economies
9th June 2023 The Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant was a key policy mechanism introduced to mitigate the effects on vulnerable groups of the COVID pandemic... →
The Covid-19 TERS policy saved at least 2-million jobs – but not without some unintended results
26th May 2023 About three years have passed since the South African government introduced the COVID-19 Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) in... →
Special Covid-19 grants not only provided income relief: they also improved labour-market outcomes
30th March 2023 The Social Relief of Distress grant was the first in South Africa to target unemployed adults. Its main aim was to provide income support in a time... →
How South Africa may leverage the BRICS chair for agribusiness
16th March 2023 Despite BRICS not being a trade bloc, its economic cooperation arrangement offers South Africa a strategic platform to advance its trade interests.... →
Education is improving but the message is hard to convey
2nd March 2023 South Africa’s improvements in international standardised tests have been exceptionally steep, albeit off a low base, for some 15 years. Six... →
The creative spark of a public employment programme
17th February 2023 The Presidential Employment Stimulus has created more than one million jobs and livelihood opportunities since its inception two years ago. In the... →
Integrated urban services can boost regional development in Africa – this is how
3rd February 2023 Urbanisation provides a unique opportunity to accelerate economic and social development across Africa. South Africa has some of the technical... →
How trade restrictions affect consumers: the case of frozen chicken
19th January 2023 Trade protection in South Africa has increased overall since 2014. This has manifested in a rising incidence of tariffs covering intermediate... →
Budget pressures erode capacity of the criminal justice system
2nd December 2022 The criminal justice system faces severe challenges: as organised crime has risen, the capacity of the system has diminished. A close look at... →
How agro-processing can boost regional integration – and development
22nd September 2022 Regional integration in Africa is underway but progress requires that the gains are widely spread. South Africa’s huge regional trade surplus in... →
How big is the illicit cigarette market in South Africa?
8th September 2022 In August 2022, British American Tobacco South Africa (BATSA) announced the illicit cigarette trade in the past year comprised 70% of the local... →
How land reform can boost inclusive agricultural growth
7th July 2022 Land reform is not only politically important: it could be a key catalyst for inclusive growth and employment creation. But policymakers need to... →
The changing landscape of sustainable finance
22nd April 2022 The global climate effects of rising carbon emissions are fast becoming too costly to ignore. However, mitigating these effects also carry risks... →
The Russia-Ukraine war will hurt SA investment ambitions: lessons from nine wars
4th April 2022 Lessons from nine wars since the early 1970s, and the Brexit vote, show that global foreign direct investment inflows generally decline during the... →
Social stratification around the NSFAS threshold: A dynamic approach to profiling the missing middle
24th March 2022 In 2018, government announced that the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) would fund all eligible post-school students whose household... →
Basic income support is unavoidable, but making it work requires political courage
8th February 2022 As government gears up to announce its programme for the next year, through the State of the Nation address and the Budget, it seems certain that... →
The politics of economic change
21st January 2022 The political settlement forged around South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democracy created the conditions for a corporate restructuring... →
The MTBPS makes a start: now we need the policies for growth
2nd December 2021 South Africa’s national budget is one of the most redistributive in the emerging markets, but our rising debt to GDP ratio threatens future... →
The case for a Universal Basic Income Grant
29th November 2021 The Covid pandemic has greatly exacerbated existing poverty and unemployment in South Africa. What are the best policies to alleviate it? Targeted... →
The MTBPS clears some fiscal space but it is still a path through a swamp
18th November 2021 Treasury did the best it could in this month’s Medium Term Budget Policy Statement. Half the revenue windfall was used for fiscal consolidation and... →
COVID-19: the measure of learning losses
11th November 2021 How much learning did primary school children in poorer schools lose due to the lockdowns resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic? Three different... →
The EU Green Deal: how will it impact South African agricultural exports?
27th October 2021 The European Union (EU) is the second most important market for South Africa's agricultural products, accounting for 27% of the country's total... →
Why South African agricultural products face frontiers in African markets
15th October 2021 South Africa's export-oriented agricultural sector is heavily reliant on the African continent, accounting for over 40% of annual exports. The... →
Is South Africa's trade policy failing the agricultural sector?
7th October 2021 South Africa's agricultural exports have grown significantly over the past two decades. Yet agricultural private-sector role players typically... →
Part 2: Fiscal Dimensions of South Africa's crisis
13th July 2021 In the first article in this series, we examined the history of SA’s economic policy and some of the roots of its current fiscal crisis. We looked... →
Part 1: Fiscal dimensions of South Africa's crisis
13th July 2021 At the start of the democratic project, South Africa hoped for a “fiscal renaissance”. After a brief period of consolidation, social spending rose,... →
New opportunities for South African agriculture: the African Continental Free Trade Area
17th February 2021 The new African Free Continental Trade Area phases out 90% of tariffs on all goods traded between African Union member states over a 5 to 10 year... →
African governments should have a fresh look at agriculture as part of the economic recovery plan after Covid-19
3rd December 2020 The Covid-19 pandemic presents an opportunity for African governments to relook agriculture as part of the economic recovery plan. A new approach... →
The Covid-19 crisis has amplified spatial inequalities
1st October 2020 The economic and social crisis induced by Covid-19 is unfolding in different ways across the country. New evidence from the NIDS-CRAM survey... →
Covid-19’s economic effects: tourism’s supply-chain impacts
13th August 2020 While the impact of the Covid-19 lock-down on the tourism sector may seem clear, the potential impact on its supply chain has not been... →
Finance and businesses in the time of Corona
1st April 2020 The lockdown and physical distancing measures of government impact small and medium-sized companies severely as they lack the financial reserves to... →
Soaring deficits and debt: restoring sustainability amidst low economic growth
24th February 2020 The debt burden of the national government has steadily increased from 27% in 2007. It is heading towards 70% in 2022/3 if this trajectory is not... →
Hiding in plain sight: high-value agriculture’s large-scale potential to grow jobs and exports
18th September 2019 South Africa has a major but overlooked opportunity to expand the production of high-value agricultural products that are both labour-intensive and... →
Socio-economic class in South Africa: playing snakes and ladders with loaded dice
13th August 2019 Experiences of poverty over time differ markedly. Out of four South Africans, two experience persistent poverty with few future prospects. Another... →
The informal economy: Is policy based on correct assumptions?
19th February 2019 We analyse the emphasis in informal-sector and informal-economy policy, highlighting who runs the risk of being missed. We then interrogate... →
