Macroeconomic policy for Inclusive Industrial Transformation in South Africa

Webinar registration link
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3u1DihR8Qpunn7ibj0VHYA
Passcode: 181307

Date: 17 November 2022

Time: 12h00 – 14h00

Policy dialogue panel

· Dr Nthabiseng Moleko (Development Economist, Stellenbosch Business School)

· Dr Pali Lehohla (Director of Economic Modelling Academy (EMA); former Statistician-General of South Africa, 2000–2017)

· Prof Mark Swilling (Distinguished Professor and Co-Director of the Centre for Sustainability Transitions (CST), Stellenbosch University)

· Thabi Nkosi (Agricultural economist, investment strategist, development finance professional)

Discussant: TBC

What roles can macroeconomic policies play in expanding an inclusive industrial sector in South Africa? To what extent does the country’s longstanding Industrial Policy Action Plan incorporate and provide for macroeconomic imperatives? Debates about industry performance and pathways to industrialisation in South Africa need to include comparisons with other developing countries. Industrial prosperity, as the development experiences of the most productive economies suggest, requires the right fiscal and monetary policies.

This dialogue seeks to stimulate evidence-informed conversations about the interactions of macroeconomic policy goals and industrialisation in a global scenario marked by accelerating climate change and technological innovations. The key issues that cut across macroeconomic and industrial policy include economic growth, better production techniques and technologies, the financing of plants, property and equipment, preventing a few giant corporations from controlling key industries, and incentives for job creation, particularly among the unskilled. Furthermore, debates about the macroeconomics of industrial policy invariably open questions about putting in place fit-for-purpose institutional governance systems.

Against this backdrop, experts will debate researched insights on:

· Key features of South Africa’s industrial sector and structure: past and present

· South Africa’s employment crisis – how appropriate have our industrial policies been?

· Funding mechanisms to promote inclusive industrialisation

· Employment-focused industrial policy

This is the fifth in a series of HSRC Macroeconomic Policy Dialogues with a 6th one planned for February 2023. The aims of the dialogues are to widen debate, strengthen cooperation between policy practitioners, academia and non-governmental stakeholders, and promote evidence-informed solutions to diverse macroeconomic puzzles that hinder transformational development in South Africa, across our continent and beyond.

Register/RSVP: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3u1DihR8Qpunn7ibj0VHYA

Please share this invitation with your networks.