Director’s Statement
In my letter to stakeholders last year, I communicated my commitment—and reaffirmed that of Economic Research Southern Africa (ERSA)—to a vision of a Southern Africa where high-quality research informs economic policies that drive growth. Over the past year, we have remained steadfast in this mission.
While we constantly strive for growth, deeper engagement, and greater impact, I am proud to reflect on the tangible progress we have made this year.
In July 2024, ERSA launched a dedicated online platform for our Working Paper Series. This platform streamlines submissions, peer review, and access to published work. To further boost visibility and credibility, ERSA also registered with a DOI agency, ensuring permanent citation and academic recognition.
Our Policy Insights research outputs aim to appeal to a broader audience than our more academically inclined working papers. During the year, we published 10 policy papers, two briefs, and 10 economic notes. Eight of the policy papers formed part of our “From 1994 to Now” series— a critical reflection on South Africa’s post-apartheid economic trajectory. These were presented at the South Africa @30 Conference hosted by SALDRU in April 2025.
We convened eight policy dialogues on key themes, including monetary policy, urban economics, macroeconomic modelling, forecasting, and digital platform regulation. These engagements helped shape research agendas, fostered collaboration, and strengthened the link between research and policymaking.
Our training programmes continued to grow, drawing enthusiastic participation. We were especially pleased to welcome distinguished international academics, including Prof. Alexander Ludwig (European University Institute), who led a workshop on Heterogeneous Agent New Keynesian Models, and Prof. Yonas Alem (University of Gothenburg), who delivered a course on academic writing and ethics to a group of master’s, PhD, and postdoctoral students.
We also prioritised communication—improving our website, expanding our YouTube presence, and significantly growing our LinkedIn network. Research has little impact if it’s not accessible and well- communicated. Our website now provides easier access to our work, our economic notes help translate complex analysis, and our social media accounts share timely, evidence-based insights and promote opportunities for collaboration and support.
Throughout all our activities, we have endeavoured to remain firmly policy relevant. The “From 1994 to Now” series explored pressing topics, including national health insurance, labour markets, fiscal consolidation, and inflation targeting. Urban development also featured prominently, reflecting the national and global recognition of cities as key drivers of growth, as seen in Phase 2 of Operation Vulindlela and the World Bank’s Inclusive Growth Report.
In response to current policy challenges, ERSA has also launched two new initiatives: the Digital Platform Competition and Regulation Project, which addresses the evolving landscape of digital markets, and the Trade Policy Project, which evaluates South Africa’s export performance amid increasing global uncertainty.
I extend my sincere gratitude to our research community, partners, and stakeholders for your ongoing support and engagement. I am especially grateful to the ERSA internal team, whose dedication made this year’s achievements possible—Megan Matthews, Yoemna Mosaval, Claudine Tshabalala, Margaux Giannaros, Bradley Kent, Prof. Steve Koch, and Prof. Guangling Liu. Your dedication and excellence are deeply appreciated.
A special word of thanks also goes to the ERSA Board for its steadfast support of the operational team and its enduring belief in ERSA’s mission.
Fouché Venter
Executive Director
