It is not often that a country has an opportunity to allocate windfall government funds. Between the external pressure to stabilize our debt burden after the unexpected pandemic and the internal pressure from disaffected South Africans depending on the Covid19 social grant, which is about to expire, what should policy makers prioritise? Bearing in mind that municipal elections are 6 months away, what should we listen for while our politicians campaign? In this podcast, we are joined by Isaah Mhlanga, a Chief Economist at Alexander Forbes, and we explore the pros and cons of investing South Africa’s temporary R38 billion […]

In our second podcast with Dr Daan Steenkamp, a lead economist at the South African Reserve Bank, we delve further into how nowcasting works and discuss the latest research regarding the suite of models used to forecast GDP. By using the traffic flows to determine the impact of the lockdown on our economy, the nowcasting team at the reserve bank have developed an indicator, the Truck-o-meter, which provides a very useful signal of economic activity. If you are interested in the technicalities behind developing a ‘fast indicator’ for nowcasting, this podcast is for you. Daan has a way of breaking […]

After the challenges raised by Covid-19 and the increasing risks concerning South Africa’s fiscal sustainability, there were three objectives that the Finance Minister’s Budget Speech ought to have addressed.  Following on from a previous podcast, this podcast explores whether or not these objectives as well as the expectations of South Africans, were met. Once again, ERSA’s host speaks to Isaah Mhlanga, a Chief Economist at Alexander Forbes, who explains the importance of growing our tax-paying pool and what a realistic outlook is for our fiscal deficit, given the structural issues we are currently facing. With the Finance Minister adopting a […]

Joining ERSA’s host in this podcast is Isaah Mhlanga, a Chief Economist at Alexander Forbes. Together they discuss expectations for the upcoming 2021 Budget Speech, which will be delivered next week. With the current state of the economy highlighting a growing budget deficit after the Covid-19 shock, what should happen to the alcohol excise tax, the tax relief for small businesses and the allocation of funds to SOEs? At a time when the Moody’s credit agency has South Africa on a negative outlook and is expecting investment to drive economic growth, Isaah delivers some good news from 2020’s monetary and […]

In this podcast, ERSA’s host speaks to Dr Biniam Bedasso about Public Finance Management, which plays a significant role in reducing inequality in an economy. You may be familiar with the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) Program from 2001, but in this podcast, we look at the developments that have taken place since then to accommodate the distinct needs of developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Managing the finances of a country is complicated to say the least, especially if an environment is plagued by corruption. Biniam unpacks CABRI’s PFM Capabilities framework and explains why Public Finance Management matters not […]

After its sovereign debt crisis in 2011, Italy experienced its worst recession since World War II. With the labour market heavily dependent on the manufacturing sector and facing decreasing productivity and growing inequality, Italian policy makers were given the opportunity to turn the situation around. In this podcast, ERSA’s host speaks to Dr Filippo Taddei, an Associate Prof. of International Economics at John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), who recently moved to the European Team at Goldman Sachs as a Senior Economist for Southern Europe. Filippo and his team were key players in designing and implementing the structural […]