REVIVING SOUTH AFRICA’S SAGGING ECONOMY: POLICY OPTIONS & CHALLENGES

Dr Iraj Abedian, chief economist, Pan-African Investment & Research Services

Between 2009 and 2018, South Africa lost a decade of economic performance and social development. This course will focus on the key underlying drivers of SA’s economic underperformance. To this end, the analysis will cover both the structural and cyclical issues. The objective is to explore the country’s policy options and challenges that need to be overcome. To this end, both short-term and medium-term policy options will be discussed. President Ramaphosa’s pronouncements will be placed within this context. South Africa’s policy options will be discussed with due regard to the implications of prevailing disruptive forces of both technological and socio-political nature.

LECTURE TITLES

1.An overview of the South African political economy challenges

2.The South African economy and global disruptive dynamics

3. Policy options for economic revival: the imperatives of inclusiveness

Recommended reading

The World Bank Report. Overcoming Poverty and Inequality in South Africa. March 2018
Abedian, I., Mosala, I. and Sehume, J. (eds). 2018. Seeking the Ethical Foundations of New South Africa. Johannesburg: MISTRA.
Bisseker, C. 2017. On the Brink: South Africa’s Political and Fiscal Cliff-Hanger. Cape Town: Tafelberg.
Piketty, T. 2014. Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Padstow: TJ International Ltd.