Competition Crossroads: Decoding 30 Years of Enforcement
Since our democracy in 1994, South Africa’s competition policy has received positive international attention. The Competition Act of 1998 was ahead of its time, recognizing that credible competition law and effective structures are necessary for an efficient functioning economy. 30 years later, how has South Africa’s competition policy evolved? In this podcast, ERSA’s host sits down with Prof Willem Boshoff, who is a Professor of Economics and Co-Director of the Center for Competition Law and Economics at Stellenbosch University to discuss his research on “Two competing approaches in South African competition policy: Merger control and anti-cartel enforcement over three decades”. […]
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Targeting Inflation Insights
Shortly after the April MPR, ERSA’s host sat down with Dr Chris Loewald, the Head of the Research Department at the Reserve Bank, and a member of the Monetary Policy Committee to discuss inflation targeting amidst the increasing international trade tensions, global uncertainty and concerns of stagflation. As a relatively complex and small economy that trades with both advanced economies and emerging markets, adopting the inflation targeting regime has served South Africa well over the last 25 years. With increasing global uncertainty, what is working and what isn’t working with this monetary policy regime? What can we learn from other […]
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Will the NHI integrate our healthcare system 30 years on?
South Africa’s transition to democracy in 1994 placed a fragmented, racially divided health system in the hands of the new ANC-led government. It quickly moved to transform the health administrations of 10 homelands and four provinces into a single national department and nine provincial departments, in line with the new constitution. However, thirty years later, South Africa still has a health system driven by inequalities; it is as if the income inequality has mapped its way into the duality of the health system. One of the latest approaches to addressing this issue, culminated in the formation of the 2024 National […]
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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 […]
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.
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