Blog
clock and money
Does South Africa's SRD grant need a major overhaul?
Maya Goldman, Brynde Kreft and Ntuthuko Hlela
South Africa's unemployment rate stands at a staggering 32.1% —one of the highest in the world. Coupled with an alarming poverty rate, where nearly half of the population lives below the poverty line, the socioeconomic...
October 2024
Labour market and inequality
Working paper
Wait no more: how the administration of VAT refunds impacts firm behaviour
Giacomo Brusco, Marlies Piek, and Tejaswi Velayudhan
Refunds are an essential feature of well-functioning VAT systems and take up a sizeable portion of government spending. In South Africa, refunds amount to 50 per cent of gross VAT collection, representing a substantial transfer...
SEPTEMBER 2024
Public revenue
Working paper
Income inequality in South Africa: Evidence from individual-level administrative tax data
Chandré Jacobs, Amina Ebrahim, Murray Leibbrandt, Jukka Pirttilä, and Marlies Piek
We use individual-level tax administrative data to estimate personal income inequality among the tax-compliant population in South Africa over the period 2011–21. Our results indicate that inequality of this population rose slightly over the period...
SEPTEMBER 2024
Labour market and inequality
Blog
game of jenga
The economic ripples of rising government debt
Abishek Kumar, Sushanta Mallick and Abena Larbi-Odam
In recent years, governments worldwide witnessed a surge in debt levels . According to the Institute of International Finance, global debt reached a staggering USD 315 trillion in early 2024 , with sizable increases in...
AUGUST 2024
Macro-fiscal analysis
Blog
man putting wallet in pocket
What happens when you tax the rich?
Christopher Axelson, Jukka Pirttilä, Antonia Hohmann, Roxanne Raabe, Nadine Riedel
South Africa faces a dual challenge of limited fiscal space—the need to raise sufficient revenues to finance public services—and high levels of inequality. One possible solution is to raise tax rates on the rich. If...
August 2024
Public revenue
Technical workshop
computer and notepad
SA-TIED Hosts Work-in-Progress Workshop on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus
23 Aug 2024 / 11:00 to 16:00
Climate and energy
SA-TIED hosted a work-in-progress workshop at Stats SA in Pretoria for Workstream 5: Water-Energy-Food in the Context of Climate Change. This workshop brought together researchers and experts to review the status of their ongoing research...
News
Empty chairs
UNU-WIDER at IIPF Conference 2024
SA-TIED
An important contingent of UNU-WIDER supported research will be presented at the 80th Annual Congress of the International Institute of Public Finance held at the Prague University of Economics and Business in Czech Republic on...
August 2024
Public revenue
News
LAPTOP SCREEN
SA-TIED Research Presented at GTAC Seminar
SA-TIED
On 2 August 2024, SA-TIED research was presented at a Government Technical Advisory Centre seminar that reflected on the state of South Africa's economy, 30 years into democracy. Joshua Budlender, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at...
AUGUST 2024
Labour market and inequality
Macro-fiscal analysis