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Blog
With just days to go before the rescheduled 2025 Budget Speech, South Africa faces a ZAR 60 billion revenue shortfall amid slowing economic growth and diminishing international aid. The initial proposal to increase VAT from...
March 2025
Public revenue
Blog
The 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action set ambitious goals for equality, development, and peace for women worldwide. Endorsed by 189 countries, it reaffirmed that women’s rights are human rights and called for their...
March 2025
Blog
South Africa’s energy sector is undergoing a transformation. The suspension of load shedding—planned, rolling power outages to prevent grid collapse — for over 300 days signals progress in stabilizing electricity supply. However, rising electricity prices...
February 2025
Climate and energy
Blog
In recent years, UNU-WIDER has partnered with sub-Saharan African governments to establish secure data labs that provide researchers with access to anonymized administrative tax data for economic research. Two notable examples are the Uganda Revenue...
February 2025
Enterprise development
Public revenue
Labour market and inequality
Blog
Launched on 1 September 2024, South Africa's two-pot retirement system is designed to offer greater flexibility in managing retirement savings. This system allows individuals to access a portion of their thretirement funds before retirement through...
November 2024
Public revenue
Blog
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
Blog
On 25 May 2023, three-year-old Neyamiah James died after extended electricity outages in Johannesburg caused her home oxygen machine to run out of backup power. On 4 March 2023, Yengiwe Mthimunye died after being turned...
SEPTEMBER 2024
Macro-fiscal analysis
Blog
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
Blog
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
As a young data developer responsible for mining and analysing the administrative tax data provided to researchers through the SA-TIED programme, I am acutely aware of the economic challenges faced by the average South African...
July 2024
Blog
In South Africa, the power grid undergoes rotational, scheduled outages—or rolling blackouts—most commonly referred to as load shedding. Load shedding is primarily a consequence of frequent breakdowns at the national utility. These are due to...
MAY 2024
Blog
In 2024, central banks worldwide are confronted with the challenges of juggling inflation control , economic growth, and the preservation of financial stability. A new report from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social...
MAY 2024
Macro-fiscal analysis
Blog
In monetary policy communication, every word carries weight. Consider this scenario: the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) articulates its stance to anchor inflation expectations , yet this message undergoes subtle transformations when translated by the...
April 2024
Blog
Over the past decade, the interest rate that South Africa pays on its debt has consistently been above the economic growth rate. Mathematically, this means that debt grows as a percent of GDP. It becomes...
March 2024
Macro-fiscal analysis
Blog
Sub-Saharan Africa has abundant natural resources and a substantial market, with an estimated population of 1.2 billion. The population is projected to grow by nearly 80% and reach almost 2 billion people by 2043. This...
February 2024
Blog
New analysis of income data in South Africa shows the gender pay gap—how much more men earn than women—has increased. According to findings from a study conducted on the SA-TIED programme, in 2021, women in...
January 2024
Public revenue