South Africa has a comparably large government sector, and the choices made about revenue, expenditure, the deficit and how money is spent will play a defining role in shaping how incomes and employment will grow. Key questions that shape the session discussion include:
- Is it a demand problem or a supply problem? Does it matter?
- Why have large deficits and rising spending (real and as percent of GDP) not generated economic growth?
- How should we balance consolidation against stimulus?
- With so many opportunities for positive reform and so many decent contributions to what needs to be done, why is nothing happening?
We hope that you enjoy it as much as we did! Many thanks to our panellists: Xavier DeBrun (advisor, National Bank of Belgium) Andrew Donaldson (research associate, SALDRU UCT) Gilad Isaacs (co-director, Institute for Economic Justice) Mamokete Lijane (fixed income trader, ABSA Group) Chris Loewald (head of economic research, SARB) Federico Sturzenegger (economist, Universidad de San Andrés)
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