ERSA is organising 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 are hosting 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 will include 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 | TBC |
| 09:15 | 10:00 | Keynote | Ivan Turok |
| 10:00 | 11:00 | Panel: Building local data ecosystems: What is available and why does it matter? | Introduction by Paul Court (CPT) Panel members: – Dieter von Fintel (US) – Andrew Nell (Independent) – Rchard Gevers (Open Cities Lab) – Ayanda Hlatshwayo (NT: Secure Data Lab) |
| 11:00 | 11:30 | Tea | |
| 11:39 | 12:00 | Surveying South Africa’s Unconventional Data Landscape: A Rank-Size Distribution and Rank Correlation Analysis | Lodewalt Venter et al. |
| 12:00 | 12:30 | Urban Growth, Revenue Generation, and Service Delivery: A Geo-Spatial Analysis at the District Level in Uganda | Maonei Mangwanya |
| 12:30 | 13:00 | Disaggregating unemployment rates to reveal socioeconomic inequalities in South African cities for informed policymaking | Yegnanew Shiferaw |
| 13:00 | 14:00 | Lunch | |
| 14:00 | 14:30 | Measuring accessibility to jobs for land use policies within urban areas: A City of Cape Town case study | Jacomien van der Merwe |
| 14:30 | 15:00 | Does moving between cities pay off? Economic outcomes for South Africa’s skilled intercity migrants | Takudzwa Mutize |
| 15:00 | 15:30 | Insights for South African Metros from a decade of formal employment data | Kristoff Potgieter |
| 15:30 | 16:00 | Tea | |
| 16:00 | 16:30 | Gender and Public Transportation Systems in South African Cities | Tendai Zawaira et al. |
| 16:30 | 17:00 | Trade and the Gender Wage Gap in South Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Cape Town and eThekwini | Valentine Madzudzo |
Day 2
| Start | End | Description | Speakers |
| 09:00 | 09:15 | Opening remarks | Kgomotso Tolamo (NT: CSP), |
| 09:15 | 10:00 | World Bank Urbanization and Poverty Conference information session | Victoria Delbridge |
| 10:00 | 11:00 | Panel: Cities are the best hope for turning SA around: what are the priorities? | Introduction by Anthony Altbeker Panel members: – Kgomotso Tolamo (NT: CSP) – Shabari Shaily-Gerber (FCDO) – Ebrahim Hhalil-Hassen (GCRO) |
| 11:00 | 11:30 | Tea | |
| 11:30 | 12:00 | Cities in South Africa’s post-apartheid national economic policy frameworks | Glen Robbins |
| 12:00 | 12:30 | New Firm Formation and Growth in Cities | Ivan Turok |
| 12:30 | 10:00 | Accessibility and Wages | Jacomien van der Merwe |
| 13:00 | 14:00 | Lunch | |
| 14:00 | 15:00 | Panel: Cities and industrial policy in SA | Introduction by Saul Levin (TIPS) Panel memebers: – Glen Robbins (PRISM) – Zukiswa Zumani (DTIC) – Trudi Makhaya (Independent) – Harris Selod (World Bank) |
| 15:00 | 15:30 | Documenting the extent of home foreclosures in South Africa | Allan Davids |
| 15:30 | 16:00 | Tea | |
| 16:00 | 16:30 | Understanding Changes in Gauteng’s Formal Manufacturing Jobs Through Using Tax Data (2014-2022) | Ebrahim-Khalil Hassen |
| 16:30 | 16:45 | Closing remarks |
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