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Featured Policy Bulletin

Policy Bulletin 03: Macroeconomic policy options for a savings constrained economy: the case of South Africa

Christopher Loewald, David Faulkner, and Konstantin Makrelov
Economic growth requires delivering a credible fiscal consolidation plan that shifts spending towards investment in infrastructure, human capital accumulation and a environmentally sustainable economy. Fiscal policy has to move first, reducing risk premia and the neutral real rate, allowing...
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Policy Bulletin 02: Reflections on Aspects of Public Finance and Fiscal Policy in South Africa

Estian Calitz
After the COVID-19 crisis is over, South Africa will face a fiscal mountain that looks insurmountable. Many of the problems experienced in the public finances originated outside of the fiscus and have to be addressed at source, neither fiscal discretion, nor fiscal rules or any fiscal framework...
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Policy Bulletin 01: A fair price for economic modelling? Transparency Required

Chris Loewald, Pamela Mjandana, Konstantin Makrelov
The principle of transparency is the only way that policy makers can understand the limitations of a model and use its outputs effectively to inform policy. In absence of this transparency, there is no accountability and claims cannot be tested. The first ERSA policy bulletin discusses how to...
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Featured Policy Briefs

Assessing inflation targeting and its communication

Alberto Coco and Nicola Viegi
It is less onerous to achieve policy objectives when they are clear, credibly implemented and appropriately communicated, all of which reduces uncertainty
Nov 2019
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Relating public and private remuneration

Andreas Wörgötter and Sihle Nomdebevana
The study explores remuneration patterns in South Africa between 2000 and 2017, with a focus on the relationship between public- and private-sector earnings. Although remuneration is likely to increase over time in both sectors, this does not necessarily mean these increases are related to each other.
Nov 2019
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Latest Working Papers

Contagion without deposit insurance: The South African small bank crisis of 2002/3

Roy Havemann
Following the failure of Saambou bank in February 2002, another seven South African banks failed within a month, including the ﬁfth-largest, and a further ﬁve within a year. In total, twenty-two small and mid-sized banks deregistered over two years: half the total number of banks, and nearly 10 per...
Jun 2020
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Financial Statecraft: Government Choice of Debt Instruments

Eric Arias, Layna Mosely, B. Peter Rosendorff
We explore the diversity of means by which governments borrow - from commercial banks, sovereign bond issues, official bilateral creditors, and multilateral financial institutions. Although political economy scholars tend to analyze financing instruments in isolation from one another, governments...
Jun 2020
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The impacts of unconditional cash transfers on schooling in adolescence and young adulthood: Evidence from South Africa

Neryvia Pillay Bell
I study an expansion of a South African social grant program that provided unconditional cash transfers to adolescents for the first time. Over the period 2009 to 2012, age eligibility for the child support grant was progressively extended from children under 14 to children under 18 years old. I...
May 2020
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The Effect of Tobacco and Alcohol Control Policies on Household Spending Patterns in Kenya: An Approach Using Matched Difference in Differences

Abel Otwori Nyagwachi, Grieve Chelwa and Corné van Walbeek
This paper examines the effect of tobacco and alcohol control policies on tobacco and alcohol consumption patterns and the evolution of crowding-out effects on other household expenditure in Kenya. The current literature on crowding-out does not provide a defensible instrumental variable for a...
May 2020
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Does the choice of balance-measure matter under Genetic Matching?

Adeola Oyenubi and Martin Wittenberg
In applied studies, the influence of balance measures on the performance of matching estimators is often taken for granted. This paper considers the performance of different balance measures that have been used in the literature when balance is being optimized. We also propose the use of the...
May 2020
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Upcoming Online Seminars

Structural Constraints on the Economy, Growth and Political Economy

Christian Bjornskov (Aarhus University and IFN, Stockholm), 'Late Colonial Antecedents of Modern Democracy'

When: Monday, 13 July
Time: 3:00 PM (CAT) on Zoom

Public Economics

Neryvia Pillay Bell, “The impacts of unconditional cash transfers on schooling in adolescence and young adulthood: Evidence from South Africa”

When: Tuesday, 14 July
Time: 4:00 PM (CAT) on Zoom

Industrial Organisation and the Economics of Digital Transformation

Catia Batista, "Is Mobile Money Changing Rural Africa? Evidence from a Field Experiment"

When: Wednesday, 15 July
Time: 2:00 PM (CAT) on Zoom

Latest Podcasts

Prof. Estian Calitz on Fiscal Sustainability in South Africa

Wed, 08 July 2020

Shortly after the Minister of Finance gave his Supplementary Budget Speech, ERSA’s host, Margaux G met up with Prof. Estian Calitz, an Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of...
Dr David Fowkes on QE and central bank balance sheet policies: Does South Africa have ‘magic money’?

Wed, 24 June 2020

Shortly after the Governor of the SARB gave his speech about the future of Monetary Policy in South Africa, ERSA’s host Margaux G met up with Dr David Fowkes, a Senior Economist at the South...
Prof Johannes W. Fedderke on the South African – US sovereign bond spread and its association with macroeconomic variables

Wed, 27 May 2020

In this podcast, Prof. Johannes W. Fedderke, the Director of ERSA speaks to our host, Margaux G about his research on the South African – US sovereign bond spread. The cost that the South African...
Dr Neryvia Pillay Bell on the Fiscal response to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa

Thu, 23 April 2020

In this podcast Dr Neryvia Pillay Bell, a Policy Associate at ERSA and Senior Economics Lecturer at the University of Cape Town, discusses how South Africa’s labour market and the government...
Manoel Bittencourt on COVID-19 Economic Facts in South Africa

Wed, 08 April 2020

In this insightful video, Prof. Manoel Bittencourt, from Wits University’s Department of Economics and Finance, discusses the latest figures relating to the Coronavirus pandemic in South Africa....
Alex van den Heever on South Africa’s public healthcare response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Wed, 08 April 2020

In this podcast Prof. Alex van den Heever, the Chair of Social Security at the Wits School of Governance discusses how South Africa’s public healthcare system is handling the COVID-19 pandemic....
Chris Loewald on the Monetary Policy response to the Coronavirus pandemic in South Africa

Mon, 06 April 2020

Amidst the Coronavirus Pandemic and an economic downgrade, we speak to Dr Chris Loewald shortly after the Monetary Policy Review. As the Head of the Research Department at the Reserve Bank, and a...
Nicola Viegi on the South African economic response to the Coronavirus

Mon, 06 April 2020

Nicola Viegi, Deputy Director of ERSA, talks with Margaux G on the South African economic response to the Coronavirus. Health...
Nicola Viegi on the potential impact of the Coronavirus on South Africa

Thu, 26 March 2020

In this podcast, Prof. Nicola Viegi, the Deputy Director of ERSA and SARB Chair in Monetary Policy Studies at the University of Pretoria, discusses the unprecedented nature of the Coronavirus...
Differential Impact of the Coronavirus as of end of March 2020

Thu, 26 March 2020

Professor Johannes W. Fedderke, the Director of ERSA speaks to our host, Margaux G about the initial impact of the Coronavirus on the world. Exploring the differential impact across countries by...

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Featured Policy Bulletin

Policy Bulletin 03: Macroeconomic policy options for a savings constrained economy: the case of South Africa

Policy Bulletin 02: Reflections on Aspects of Public Finance and Fiscal Policy in South Africa

Policy Bulletin 01: A fair price for economic modelling? Transparency Required

Featured Policy Briefs

Assessing inflation targeting and its communication

Relating public and private remuneration

Latest Working Papers

Contagion without deposit insurance: The South African small bank crisis of 2002/3

Financial Statecraft: Government Choice of Debt Instruments

The impacts of unconditional cash transfers on schooling in adolescence and young adulthood: Evidence from South Africa

The Effect of Tobacco and Alcohol Control Policies on Household Spending Patterns in Kenya: An Approach Using Matched Difference in Differences

Does the choice of balance-measure matter under Genetic Matching?

Upcoming Online Seminars

Latest Podcasts

Prof. Estian Calitz on Fiscal Sustainability in South Africa

Dr David Fowkes on QE and central bank balance sheet policies: Does South Africa have ‘magic money’?

Prof Johannes W. Fedderke on the South African – US sovereign bond spread and its association with macroeconomic variables

Dr Neryvia Pillay Bell on the Fiscal response to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa

Manoel Bittencourt on COVID-19 Economic Facts in South Africa

Alex van den Heever on South Africa’s public healthcare response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Chris Loewald on the Monetary Policy response to the Coronavirus pandemic in South Africa

Nicola Viegi on the South African economic response to the Coronavirus

Nicola Viegi on the potential impact of the Coronavirus on South Africa

Differential Impact of the Coronavirus as of end of March 2020