ERSA and the South African Reserve Bank’s Economic Research Department, with the support of the Bureau of Economic Research (BER), personally invite you to attend our conference on Finding a Path to Growth and Employment in South Africa, taking place at the Hazendal Hotel in Stellenbosch on 5 and 6 March 2026.
Over the past decade, South Africa’s economy has grown by just 0.7% per year—below population growth—resulting in declining GDP per capita and persistently high unemployment of 32.5% (narrow definition). At the same time, important progress—including improved fiscal management, institutional reforms and Operation Vulindlela—signals strengthening economic fundamentals and renewed confidence, despite weak growth outcomes. The central challenge is to build on this momentum and translate macroeconomic gains into sustained, inclusive growth.
While these reforms are necessary, on their own, they are unlikely to deliver the scale of growth required to significantly reduce unemployment and improve living standards. Drawing on recent analytical work by the OECD and the World Bank, the conference will examine the foundations of growth and competitiveness, with a focus on cities and agriculture as engines of job creation, strategies to reignite investment, the role of international trade, firm productivity and labour mobility, competition policy reform, and new frontiers in structural transformation relevant to South Africa.
Keynote Speaker:
Dan Andrews is currently Head of the Growth, Competitiveness and Regulation Division in the OECD Economics Department, where he leads teams to analyse the implementation of structural policies and their implications for economic growth. Prior to that, he was a founding member of the e61 Institute – a big data data-driven think tank in Australia – and inaugural Research Director and Head of Policy Engagement. Between 2018 and 2020, Dan was the Chief Adviser on Structural Reform and Head of Macroeconomic Policy Division at the Australian Treasury, where he also served as Co-Chair of the OECD Global Forum on Productivity and Australian delegate to the Working Party No 1 on Macroeconomic and Structural Policy and OECD Economic Policy Committee. Dan first joined the OECD Economics Department in 2009 and has led empirical research at the intersection of potential growth and structural policy. Dan began his career at the Reserve Bank of Australia in 1999 and undertook graduate studies at Harvard University.
Programme Details:
Day 1
- KEYNOTE: OECD Foundations for Growth and Competitiveness, And Application to South Africa
Presented by: Dan Andrews (OECD) - Cities, Employment and Growth
Presented by: Ivan Turok (University of the Free State) and Justin Visagie (Southern Centre of Ineqaulty Studies)
Panellists: Paul Court (City of Cape Town), Ann Bernstein (Centre for Development and Enterprise) and Geci Sebina (Wits School of Governance) - Agriculture, employment and growth
Presented by: Wandile Sihlobo (Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa)
Panellists: Johann Kirsten (Bureau for Economic Research), Ramasodi Mooketsa (Director General at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forrestry) and Dr Sifiso Ntombela (Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa) - Reigniting South African Investment
Presented by: Roy Havemann (Bureau for Economic Research)
Panellists: Mamokete Lijane (Standard Bank Group), Andrea Masia (Morgan Stanley) and Saul Musker (the Presidency)
Day 2
- International Trade and Growth
Presented by: Prof. Lawrence Edwards (University of Cape Town)
Panellists: Prof. Marianne Matthee (Gordon Institute of Business Sciences) and Prof. Carol Newman (Trinity College Dublin), and TBC - Frontiers of Structural Transformation Research and its relevance to South Africa
Presented by: Emmanuel Mensah (University of Groningen) and Dr Calumn Hamilton (University of Groningen Growth and Development Centre)
Panellists: Zukiswa Kimani (Department of Trade, Industry and Competition), Elvis Avenyo (University of Johannesburg) and Isaac Kurusha (National Treasury) - Firm productivity, labour mobility, and participation in South Africa
Presented by: Prof. Carol Newman (Trinity College Dublin)
Panellists: Nicola Viegi (University of Pretoria), and TBC - Reforming South African Competition Policy
Presented by: Prof. Willem Boshoff (Stellenbosch University)
Panellists: Prof. Thando Vilikazi (Competition Tribunal), Nicola Theron (FTI Consulting) and James Hodge (Competition Commission)
