Research Brief
South Africa runs a large, persistent primary fiscal deficit and the interest rate on government debt, r, is greater than the economic growth rate, g (see Figure 1). Mathematically, these conditions mean sovereign debt accumulates...
June 2022
Macro modelling
Policy Brief
Over the last decade, emerging market economy countries such as South Africa have seen their levels of government debt-to-GDP rise substantially, which has led to much debate around fiscal sustainability and sovereign debt risk. Even...
October 2021
Macro modelling
Policy Brief
South Africa has experienced rising numbers of skilled workers emigrating, losing more skilled workers than it receives. Unlike skilled immigrants, emigrants tend to be highly skilled, South African-trained, driven by non-monetary factors, and less likely...
July 2021
Climate and energy
Policy Brief
In South Africa the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a National Disaster on 15 March 2020 and a national lockdown was announced on 23 March 2020. This SA-TIED policy brief presents the main findings from a...
April 2021
Public revenue
Policy Brief
Modern energy access is an important necessary condition for long-term economic development. This work presents a first analysis of the relationship between rural-urban migration and energy poverty in South Africa, using the National Income Dynamics...
February 2021
Climate and energy
Policy Brief
Climate change poses significant challenges to economic development and welfare. Increased temperature and reduced rainfall are likely to have a negative impact in regions heavily dependent on rainfed agriculture. Wide variations in agricultural value added...
February 2021
Climate and energy
Policy Brief
Climate change poses significant risks and challenges. Many of these have implications for price and financial stability and thus fall within the mandates of central banks. These risks and challenges are likely to be more...
February 2021
Climate and energy
Research Brief
Even though poverty and inequality have been of overriding concern in South Africa’s development policies and programmes since its democratization in 1994, measures of poverty, inequality, and related phenomena in the country do not show...
December 2020
Macro modelling
Research Brief
The two primary features of a job are its wage and how long it lasts. Today, there is an extensive literature on wages in the developing world thanks to the expansion of national household survey...
December 2020
Inequality
Research Brief
Plastics are universal and integrated into different sectors of the economy. Industrial policy requires countries to look at moving up the value chain and producing progressively more sophisticated products to contribute to improved economic development...
December 2020
Regional growth
Research Brief
East Asia’s successful experience in accelerating the process of industrial development with SEZs paved way for the use of SEZs as policy instruments in Africa. In southern Africa, Zambia and South Africa instituted SEZs in...
December 2020
Regional growth
Research Brief
There is growing recognition around the world that tradable services can play a valuable role in economic development. Africa is no exception, with the need for multiple routes to growth, particularly vis-à-vis the COVID-19 pandemic...
December 2020
Regional growth