The Departments of Economics at the University of Pretoria and at Stellenbosch University are jointly organising a workshop for junior researchers. This workshop series started at UP in 2021 and in 2022, and will alternate between SU and UP in the future. (See this article for information on last year's workshop.)

We invite submissions from any 

– PhD student or postdoc

– at a South African university

– in economics or a closely allied quantitative social science (e.g. finance, political science, demography, public health).

The specific department in which a student is enrolled is not important; we welcome submissions from students in e.g. business, law, or statistics departments.

This year’s workshop will be hosted by Stellenbosch University over July 19 - 20. It will be held in a hybrid format, with some overseas discussants participating remotely, while other academics will attend in person. Authors of accepted papers will have their accommodation and domestic travel expenses covered in full.

We will accept at most ten (10) papers.

The goal of the workshop is to provide junior researchers with feedback at the highest possible level, and exposure to new ideas at the international research frontier. 

Accepted authors will also gain new networking opportunities, as professional economists from the public and private sector will also be invited to the post-workshop dinner. A writing and presentation coach will also attend the workshop and will give student authors detailed feedback on their work on the second day of the workshop.

Send submissions to [email protected]. Only full papers will be considered. Submissions are due on or before June 1, 2023. Acceptance decisions will be sent out by June 15, 2023.

Keynote Speakers

David Atkin (MIT) is a development and trade economist. He has written widely on the impacts of trade liberalisation on the poor in the developing world. Some of his recent papers have studied the role of regional taste differences in altering the impacts of trade reforms in India, and educational responses to the rise of export oriented manufacturing in Mexico.

Erik Hanushek (Stanford) is the Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. His research is focused on the economics of education. He is the author of numerous widely-cited studies on the effects of class size reduction, school accountability, teacher effectiveness, and other topics.

Discussants

Anke Hoeffler (Universität Konstanz) is a professor of politics and public administration. She studies the social causes of excess morbidity and mortality. Her research covers topics such as the costs of violence, women’s empowerment, road safety, and the burden of terrorism in developing countries.

Susan Godlonton (Williams College) is a health and development economist. Her research focuses on economic development in Africa, with specific interests in preventative health care, transitions to work and agricultural productivity.

Martine Mariotti (Australian National University) is an economic historian. Her research focuses on the impacts of apartheid on African living standards in Southern Africa, as well as on historical living standards in South Africa’s settler community. 

Hylke Vandenbussche (KU Leuven) is an economist who studies international trade. Her research interests lie in firm-level trade and the role of supply and demand determinants of exports, input-output linkages, global value chains and its interaction with trade policy.

Nicola Viegi (University of Pretoria) is the South African Reserve Bank Professor of Monetary Economics at the University of Pretoria. His interests include the interdependence between monetary and fiscal policy, the political economy of monetary institutions, and regional integration in Africa.

Selection Committee

Jesse Naidoo, University of Pretoria

Mamello Nchake, Stellenbosch University

Marisa von Fintel, Stellenbosch University

We thank the following organisations for their generous sponsorship:

-- Economic Research Southern Africa (econrsa.org)

-- Research on Socio-Economic Policy Group, Stellenbosch University (resep.sun.ac.za)

-- Department of Economics, Stellenbosch University (ekon.sun.ac.za)