Welcome to the Department
Welcome to the Department of Economics at Stellenbosch University. We are one of the oldest Economics departments on the continent and one of the largest in the university. We are dedicated to quality research and teaching, with a focus on economic issues pertaining to South Africa and Africa. For any information not on this site, please contact the [protected email address] .
Nic Spaull's work on the crisis in education featured in the media
Stellenbosch University researcher Nic Spaull’s work about the tragic circumstances in South African schools has recently received considerable press coverage.
He wrote a full page opinion piece for the Mail and Guardian on 11 May, arguing that it is time to set priorities and ensure that schools focus on teaching children how to read and write.
He was also quoted in an article in Die Beeld and Die Burger on 16 April discussing the persistent problems with service delivery on the anniversary of Andries Tatane’s death. His research has also been quoted in a Daily Maverick article on 12 April outlining funding issues for schools and a Business Day article on 10 April about dysfunctional and underperforming schools in KwaZulu-Natal.
The Business Day article refers to Nic's work showing that the massive spending gap between South Africa and Mozambique (SA spent 15 times what Mozambique did on education) has not translated into better outcomes in South Africa. In fact, in some measures of educational performance South Africa does worse than Mozambique, including the proportion of Grade 6 children who are functionally illiterate, and those that have access to their own textbooks (see the conference presentation Primary school performance in Southern Africa). The Daily Maverick article uses the work of Nic and other colleagues from the department to highlight that “despite reforms, education quality has remained disappointing [with] surveys [indicating] that the level of cognitive achievement of the majority of South African children is alarmingly low in key learning areas such as reading, mathematics and science standards required by the curriculum.”
A recent policy brief provides an overview of these findings. These issues are discussed in more depth in Nic Spaull’s report, “Primary School Performance in Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa’’.
Prof Ndikumana to visit Stellenbosch
Prof Leoncé Ndikumana, Andrew Glyn Professor of Economics in the department of economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, will visit the Department of Economics at Stellenbosch University during early May. Prof Ndikumana will present a public lecture on 8 May with the topic "The extent of and reasons for capital flight from Africa: implications for economic policy". He will also present a departmental seminar on Thursday, 10 May entitled: "Africa's emerging 'new partners', with special reference to China'. To attend any of these events, please mail Ina Kruger before Friday, May 4 at gmkruger@sun.ac.za.
Stellenbosch economists win ATKV debating championship
Ivan Vorster, Jana Roos and Alma Diamond, three Economics graduate students, as well as Maree Lambrechts, an Honours Actuarial Science student, won the national ATKV debating championship on the 14th of April at the University of Pretoria. The topic of the final round was "The sovereignty of African countries is under threat from Chinese imperialism", a topic that was richly informed by their Economics training, according to the students. Each member of the winning team receives R2000.
Postgraduate conference held at Stellenbosch University
On Wednesday, 18 April, Stellenbosch University hosted the 2012 post-graduate Economics student conference. Eleven students from the universities of Stellenbosch, the Western Cape and Cape Town presented their research to a large audience of students and staff. Deon Botha (pictured) was one of the Stellenbosch graduates in action, presenting his "Hedge fund risk appetite: A prospect theory perspective" to attentive listeners.
Papers for the conference can be downloaded here.
Top performers receive awards
The top student performers in the Department were rewarded for their efforts last night at the annual Department postgraduate function and award ceremony at the scenic Moore's End just outside Stellenbosch.
The recipients of the Genesis Analytics prizes, pictured, were Alexandra Doyle (best Economics 214/244 student with an average of 89%), Morné Hendriksz and Jonathan Reader (who share the Ibn Khaldun medal for the best Honours student), Megan Little (Genesis Analytics), Louis Jordaan (the second best third-year student that continues with Economics) and Friedrich Kreuser (the best third-year student that continues with Economics).
Hendrik van Broekhuizen, pictured with Andrie Schoombee, HOD, received the Cloete medal as the best postgraduate student in the Department with an average of 84% for his Masters. Hendrik is currently enrolled for his PhD in the Department.
Stellenbosch undergraduate wins Nedbank/Old Mutual Budget Speech
Stellenbosch University has, once again, delivered a winner at the Nedbank/Old Mutual Budget Speech Competition! Mr Pierre Vercueil, an undergraduate student in the Department in 2011, won the undergraduate competition, with a student from UCT, Ms Salma Kagee, winning the post graduate competition. Ms Kate Rich (undergraduate) and Mr Wilondja Dewi Mubangu (post graduate) also made it to the Finals. The essays selected as the best of the best can be downloaded from http://www.budgetspeechcompetition.co.za/page/winners_and_finalists/2011-winners/index.
Three African Economic History research fellows appointed
Julius Agbor, Leigh Gardner and Martine Mariotti have been appointed as Research Fellows in the Department of Economics from September 1. All three appointees are trained in African economic history and will resort under the new African Economic History Group within the Department.
Julius Agbor completed his Masters degree at the University at the Western Cape in 2004, and then a PhD from the University of Cape Town in 2010. His dissertation explored the political economy of 20th century colonisation and decolonisation in Africa. He is currently an African Research Fellow at the Africa Growth Institute at the Brookings Institute, Washington.
Leigh Gardner completed her PhD in Economic History at Oxford University in 2009. From 2009 she was appointed as Lecturer at the University of Cape Town, and in 2010 she moved to the British Museum. Her research interests include African economic history and development, the political economy of the British Empire, and the origins of economic and political institutions. She joined the London School of Economics in August 2011.
Martine Mariotti completed a Masters degree in Economics at the University of the Witwatersrand and then a Masters and PhD in Economic History at the University of California in 2008. She is now a lecturer in the Department of Economics at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. Her most recent publication is an investigation into labour markets during South Africa's Apartheid regime.
Prof van Zanden's first lecture to address South Africa's long-run economic performance
Prof Jan Luiten van Zanden will on Monday, September 26 present his first lecture in the Department on the long-run economic performance of the South African economy. Prof Van Zanden is since 2010 honorary professor in the Department of Economics at Stellenbosch University and is also professor of Global Economic History at the University of Utrecht and president of the International Economic History Association. The title of his lecture is: "South African economic growth in the very long run in global perspective, 1700-present". To attend, please contact [protected email address] .
On nationalisation: Prof du Plessis delivers ESSA presidential address
On 7 September, prof Stan du Plessis delivered the ESSA presidential address to a packed audience at Stellenbosch University. In his introduction, he noted that he had written a first version of the speech on the use of statistical inference in economics, but had decided to change topic given the recent debate in the media about the possible nationalisation of the mines. His lecture - Nationalising the South African mines: Back to a prosperous future, or down a rabbit hole? - discussed the potential benefits and costs of nationalisation from an evidence-based perspective. In short, Prof du Plessis concludes that "nationalising the mining sector will cost the government more than it receives". His full speech is available as a Working Paper: http://www.ekon.sun.ac.za/wpapers/2011/wp172011
A new way to view the South African economy
The Bureau for Economic Research (BER) at Stellenbosch University recently launched a new graphical summary of the state of the South African economy. This economic snapshot will be updated every month on the BER's website. View it here.
Policy briefs to disseminate research
The Economics Department formally released its first policy brief on Thursday. The Policy Brief initiative is aimed at creating a wider audience for the research of the Department of Economics. The policy briefs are intended to be a jargon-free summary of a selection of research studies that are policy-relevant or closely linked to public debates. As a rule, the research would be recent work that is not yet published in a journal or a book.
If you are interested in receiving notifications of the release of a new policy brief, please send an email with your name and affiliation to Carina Smit (carina@sun.ac.za). The first policy briefs are available under Research, Policy Briefs or, alternatively, follow the link http://www.ekon.sun.ac.za/policybriefs/2010/
The countdown to Stellenbosch 2012 begins
Stellenbosch 2012 was proudly launched at the final plenary session of the World Economic History Congress in Utrecht, the Netherlands on the 7th of August. In a promotional DVD inviting guests to the next World Economic History Congress, the rector and vice-chancellor Russel Botman and Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu invited participants to "explore the roots of development" at the 2012 conference, which is hosted by the Department of Economics, Stellenbosch University and the Economic History Society of Southern Africa. Find more information at www.wehc2012.org.
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