VAT You Didn't See Coming: South Africa's Budget Unpacked
Shortly after the long awaited 2025 Budget Speech, while US President Donald Trump is putting South Africa under the spotlight, ERSA’s hosts sit down with Dr Roy Havemann from the Bureau of Economic Research’s Impumelelo Growth Lab, to discuss the first Budget Speech under the newly appointed Government of National Unity, and his article co-authored with Claire Bisseker in the Business Day titled Make the SA Budget Predictable and Dull Again. At a time when South Africa finds itself with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 75%, declining GDP per capita, and tax revenue struggling to keep up with the mounting spending […]
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Navigating South Africa's Evolving Trade Policy
South Africa’s trade policy is at a crossroads and this was before the tumultuous trade war that US President Donald Trump started within a couple weeks of being in office. In a country where inequality is extreme, the impact of a more open economy on employment and poverty in important. As global dynamics shift and domestic priorities evolve, the country faces both significant challenges and untapped opportunities. In this podcast, ERSA’s host sits down with Professor Lawrence Edwards from the University of Cape Town to explore the complexities of industrial policy, tariffs and market access. How are industrial and trade […]
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Whatever it takes, every day: Monetary Policy in an Emerging Economy
In conventional monetary policy, the aim is to stabilise inflation by adjusting monetary policy tools, mainly interest rates. One regime that has grown in popularity is inflation targeting and average inflation in both emerging and advanced economies is lower after the adoption of this regime. Yet, emerging markets have relatively worse performance regarding the deviations in their inflation rates. Are inflation targeters in emerging markets less committed to achieving their targets? Or is it that inflation targeting in emerging markets more challenging? In an attempt to better understand how monetary policy in emerging markets works, ERSA’s podcast host sits down […]
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Gracelin Baskaran on how environmental policies may impact South African trade
One month after COP28, we record our first podcast of 2024. As the global economy is becoming more mindful of climate change and the importance of reducing carbon emissions, we are reminded that South Africa is one of the most carbon and emissions intensive economies in the world. In this podcast, ERSA’s host sits down with Gracelin Baskaran, who is the Research Director and Senior Fellow for the Energy Security and Climate Change program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC. Together, they discuss how three environmental policies from the USA and EU, will impact South […]
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Delivering a difficult MTBPS
Running up to the elections next year, this was a difficult MTBPS to deliver. The global environment is inflationary, and growth forecasts have been revised down with lower revenue expected from our largest trade partner, China. Following on from last week’s podcast, ERSA’s host is joined by Isaah Mhlanga, a Chief Economist and Head of Research at Rand Merchant Bank to discuss expectations from the upcoming MTBPS. Together they discuss whether expectations were met and what the strained budget means for South Africa going forward. While there is no shortage of good plans, questions are raised about the ability to […]
Economic Research Southern Africa (ERSA) is a platform that supports the development of economic policy by connecting economic research to national policy debate and identifying areas of future research. Our network draws a broad and representative range of economic researchers and policy makers from a variety of academic, financial and government institutions. In this way, ERSA encourages the creation, dissemination and discussion of independent and expert economic policy-oriented research.
South Africa