Policy evaluation (aka program evaluation), formulation and design. Increasingly, solutions to Africa's economic challenges require experimentation in the design of polices and programs to find contextually relevant results. To do this cost effectively, it is essential that these programs be designed in such a way that their success can be evaluated rigorously using causal statistical methods. To see some of my work in this area, browse through the many projects in SALDRU. To see how to link these methods to the marginal value of public funds, see Policy Impacts.
Understanding the policy lessons learnt from the Covid-19 pandemic to better prepare for future systemic shocks (e.g. pandemics, climate change). In South Africa, the National Income Dynamics Study - Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM) investigated the impacts of Covid on a sample of adults. See results in the Financial Mail and The Economist. We have now joined an international partnership of organisations seeking to harmonise longitudinal data for international comparative research, the Cross National Equivalence File. This will enable the evaluation of different country policy responses to the pandemic, which will provide guidance on how best to develop policies to mitigate future systemic shocks.
Transitioning economic growth paths to lower carbon trajectories and developing suitable technologies for this purpose. One focus is on modeling this transition appropriately using computable general equilibrium models, life cycle analyses or complex systems methods. For media friendly coverage of some of my work in this area, see this article. The Just Energy Transition (JET) is a key component of this evolution, as is the ability of the JET to include a Just Labour Transition. Examples of key safeguards along the way can be found here.
Catalysing the circular economy, implementing green industrial policy, and incorporating market-based approaches to environmental management. I have taught on this topic and been involved in various private and public sector initiatives in this regard. I was part of the team that contributed to this book: Market-based approaches for environmental management in Asia. A brief summary of the recommendations for urban waste can be found in the Development Asia article here.
Productivity, innovation and firm performance at the national, regional or international level. For firm survey data for countries from all over the world (including South Africa), see Enterprise Surveys. For an example of salient work in this field, see: "Fostering technology absorption in Southern African enterprises".
Dual land tenure systems and their implications for both rural and urban economic development. South Africa has an existing private property rights system coexisting with communal property rights administered in Tribal Authority Areas. The National Income Dynamics Study allows for identification of important variables that help distinguish these systems and allows for good research work on this theme.
Data quality assessment frameworks and statistical classification and accounting systems for micro data and macro data. For household, firm and national accounts frameworks, see United Nations Statistics Division – Statistical Classifications. For an example of my work in this area, see Chapter 2 of my book: "How data quality affects our understanding of the earnings distribution".
The measurement of economic, environmental and social progress. What are the correct indicators & how do we do this at micro level and at macro level? For pros & cons of 7 alternatives including: "gross national happiness", "thriving places index", "happy planet index", "human development index", "green gross domestic product index", "genuine progress indicator", "better life index" (SA ranks last on this one), see here. For related work and an introduction to the System of Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting, see here. To calculate the carbon footprint of your daily activities, see here.
Theoretical and empirical economics related to income, consumption, savings, credit & wealth at either the micro or macro level. For South African micro data, see the National Income Dynamics Study. For South African macro data, see the South Africa Reserve Bank. Aggregation problems between micro and macro data are also topical. For comparative country analyses with similar data see here and here.
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