ERSA organised a two-day conference for academics, policymakers, city planners/managers and experts from around the world to discuss the impact that cities (small, medium or large) can have in support of growth and development as well as the challenges they face in reaching their potential.
We hosted participants with an interest in urban and/or regional economics, as well as development, from South Africa, the continent and other parts of the globe. The conference included keynote addresses, panel discussions and sessions presenting selected research/policy papers, including cities research commissioned by ERSA towards the end of 2023.
Topics of Interest
Towards the end of 2023, ERSA called for cities-focused economic research to encourage researchers to extend ideas and questions that arose out of ERSA Discussion Documents 9-13. Please see the related discussion document publications and 2023 call for proposals below.
In addition to this research project, ERSA invites submissions of non-commissioned economic research papers (academic or policy-focused) for the conference that offer insight into cities, their inhabitants, their prospects and related topics.
Preliminary Programme
Day 1
| Start | End | Description | Speakers |
| 09:00 | 09:15 | Opening remarks | Fouché Venter (Economic Research Southern Africa) |
| 09:15 | 10:00 | Keynote | Ivan Turok (Human Sciences Research Council) |
| 10:00 | 11:00 | Panel: Building local data ecosystems: What is available and why does it matter? | Panel chair: Paul Court (City of Cape Town) Panel members: – Dieter von Fintel (Stellenbosch University) – Andrew Nell (Independent) – Aliasgher Janmohammed (Open Cities Lab) |
| 11:00 | 11:30 | Tea | |
| 11:30 | 12:00 | Surveying South Africa’s Unconventional Data Landscape: A Rank-Size Distribution and Rank Correlation Analysis | Presenter: Lodewalt Venter (North West University) Co-authors: Cliver Cetzee and Waldo Krugell |
| 12:00 | 12:30 | Urban Growth, Revenue Generation, and Service Delivery: A Geo-Spatial Analysis at the District Level in Uganda | Presenter: Nara Monkam (University of Pretoria) Co-author: Maonei Mangwanya |
| 12:30 | 13:00 | Disaggregating unemployment rates to reveal socioeconomic inequalities in South African cities for informed policymaking | Presenter: Yegnanew Shiferaw (University of Johannesburg) |
| 13:00 | 14:00 | Lunch | |
| 14:00 | 14:30 | Documenting the extent of home foreclosures in South Africa | Presenter: Allan Davids (University of Cape Town) |
| 14:30 | 15:00 | Does moving between cities pay off? Economic outcomes for South Africa’s skilled intercity migrants | Presenter: Takudzwa Mutize (University of the Free State) Co-author: Justin Visagie |
| 15:00 | 15:30 | Insights for South African Metros from a decade of formal employment data | Presenter: Kristoff Potgieter (City of Cape Town) |
| 15:30 | 16:00 | Tea | |
| 16:00 | 16:30 | Gender and Public Transportation Systems in South African Cities | Presenter: Tendai Zawaira (University of Pretoria) Co-authors: Carolyn Chisadza, Matthew Clance, Nicky Nicholls |
| 16:30 | 17:00 | Trade and the Gender Wage Gap in South Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Cape Town and eThekwini | Presenter: Valentine Madzudzo (Stellenbosch University) |
Day 2
| Start | End | Description | Speakers |
| 09:00 | 09:15 | Opening remarks | Steve Koch, Economic Research Southern Africa |
| 09:15 | 09:45 | World Bank Urbanization and Poverty Conference information session | Victoria Delbridge (International Growth Centre) |
| 09:45 | 10:45 | Panel: Cities are the best hope for turning SA around: what are the priorities? | Panel Chair: Antony Altbeker (Independent) Panel members: – Sydney Maesela (National Treasury: City Support Programme) – Shirley Robinson (DNA Economics) – Ebrahim-Khalil Hassen (Gauteng City-Region Observatory) |
| 10:45 | 11:15 | Tea | |
| 11:15 | 11:45 | Cities in South Africa’s post-apartheid national economic policy frameworks | Presenter: Glen Robbins (Policy Research in International Services and Manufacturing) |
| 11:45 | 12:15 | New Firm Formation and Growth in Cities | Presenter: Ivan Turok (Human Sciences Research Council) Co-authors: Justin Visagie and Andrew Nell |
| 12:15 | 12:45 | Local labour markets and commuting times | Presenter: Jacomien van der Merwe (Stellenbosch University) Co-authors: Kerry Papps, Tom de Jong, and Megan Bruwer |
| 12:45 | 13:45 | Lunch | |
| 13:45 | 14:45 | Panel: What is the role of industrial policy in enabling cities to become drivers of growth? | Panel Chair: Saul Levin (Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies) Panel members: – Glen Robbins (PRISM) – Zukiswa Zumani (DTIC) – Trudi Makhaya (Independent) – Harris Selod (World Bank) |
| 14:45 | 15:15 | Measuring accessibility to jobs for land use policies within urban areas: A City of Cape Town case study | Presenter: Jacomien van der Merwe (University of Stellenbosch) Co-authors: Tom de Jongh and Stephan Krygsman |
| 15:14 | 15:45 | Understanding Changes in Gauteng’s Formal Manufacturing Jobs Through Using Tax Data (2014-2022) | Presenter: Ebrahim-Khalil Hassen (Gauteng City-Region Observatory) Co-authors: Laven Naidoo, Mamokete Modiba, and Darlington Mushongera |
| 15:45 | 16:15 | Conference closing | Fouché Venter, Economic Research Southern Africa |
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