Econ3x3 is an editorially independent forum focused on economic policy and inclusive development. It was established in 2012 as part of the Research Project on Employment, Income Distribution and Inclusive Growth (REDI3x3), which was sponsored by the National Treasury as a collaborative economic research initiative supported by the School Free State.
Professor Frederick Fourie, research coordinator of the REDI3x3 project, served as Econ3x3’s founding editor from 2012 to 2020.”
On completion of the REDI3x3 project in 2020 it was agreed that Econ3x3 should continue as a forum for ongoing debate and publication of policy-relevant research, under the auspices of the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) at the University of Cape Town.
With effect from February 2025, Econ3x3 will be taken forward through a collaboration between SALDRU and the UNU-Wider Southern Africa – Towards Inclusive Development (SA-TIED) research programme, in which South Africa’s National Treasury and the SA Revenue Service are active partners.
The SALDRU- UNU-Wider collaboration provides for continued publication of concise research articles on South Africa’s employment, income distribution and inclusive growth challenges, including summaries of papers published through the SA-TIED research initiative. It also provides for mentorship and training of young researchers and support for dialogue and debate on critical policy issues.
Econ3x3 aims to strengthen engagement between research and policy making and to contribute to better coordinated, consistent and effective economic and social policies directed particularly at the critical problem areas of unemployment, inequality and poverty. The focus is therefore largely on underlying, longer-term, structural relationships and dynamics in the economy, but analytical perspectives on cyclical or current policy debates are also welcome.. Econ3x3 seeks to contribute to economic policy debates but also encourages complementary and multi-disciplinary discussions.
Contributions to Econ3x3 are expected to be analytically rigorous but also more accessible than academic journal articles. Submitted drafts are carefully reviewed before publication, both for clarity and coherence of argument and for language and style. Econ3x3 provides a unique platform for researchers to get their research findings into the public domain and into other media outlets. It is intended to facilitate active debate on policy issues and it provides a forum through which policy advisors can engage with the research community, with colleagues, with private sector analysts and with civil society stakeholders.
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The three interlocking triangles and the “3 by 3” element of the Econ3x3 forum name reflect the interconnected nature of South Africa’s major socio-economic challenges: unemployment, inequality and poverty, and the need to accelerate investment, growth and inclusivity. The logo also signals that an integrated policy approach is needed to engage with these problems – they have macroeconomic aspects, social and labour market considerations are relevant and the insights of development economics and public finance are important. Econ3x3 welcomes inter-disciplinary work and perspectives from diverse ideological and analytical viewpoints.
We encourage contributors to engage with the links between formal and informal parts of the economy, and between rural and urban, and social and economic dynamics. We hope to support a “triangulation” of diverse data sources, analytical disciplines, research methods and policy focus areas.
