Prof Dieter von Fintel shares insights about people, place and development at inaugural lecture

(From left: Prof Ada Jansen, Prof Stan du Plessis, Prof Dieter von Fintel, Prof Ingrid Woolard, Prof Pieter von Wielligh)

Another professorial inaugural event in the Department of Economics took place last week. At this event, it was time to honour prof Dieter von Fintel's research career and appointment as professor. His address to colleagues and guests brought together a huge number of interesting findings from his extensive and diverse research including numerous collaborations with students and academics both local and from around the world.

The topics reflected his specialisation as an econometrician, thus focusing on the use of empirical data to answer deep questions about -- as he delineated it -- people, places and development. He looked at questions like the effects of very early childhood and intergenerational transmission mechanisms affecting economic outcomes in later life, inequality, minimum wages, affirmative action, migration, institutions and many others. A pervasive and very difficult recurrent question is whether seemingly entrenched trends with deep historical roots can be reversed, a question of obvious and vital importance to the development of South Africa.

Prof Von Fintel shared thoughtful insights along the way reflecting his approach to Economics, including the values of honesty, humility, depth and rigour in research. In his words, "we need to acknowledge that there is a lot we don’t know, and that our systems are terribly imperfect to solve humanity’s pressing problems, even if we have made substantial progress at reducing poverty. Our systems fail and ideology cannot cure us of our (in)humanity. My hope is for a world less polarised, more fact-based and more human."

You can view the inaugural address online (click here).

Click here for more information on Prof von Fintel on the university news blog.