Manoel Bittencourt

Position: Associate Professor

Institution: University of Pretoria

Manoel is an Associate Professor in Economics at Pretoria and he holds a PhD in Economics from Bristol. He is also visiting professor and researcher at Goettingen and Heidelberg universities. His main research interests are in growth and development economics, and he has published papers in, e.g., Economic Modelling, Journal of Policy Modeling, Economics of Governance, Developing Economies, Economic Change and Restructuring, and CESIfo Forum.

Editor's Corner

Note from the Editor

Spatial inequality and the impact of the pandemic

Welcome to this edition of Econ3x3.

The country is in its 15^th month of lockdown as it battles the coronavirus pandemic and the economic effects of the lockdown.

In this edition, we continue the focus on the differential effects of both the lockdown and the pandemic. Jacqueline Mosomi, Amy Thornton and Nicola Branson explained (April 16, 2021) how and why women have suffered worse in the pandemic and lockdowns. This week, Muna Shifa, Anda David and Murray Leibbrandt present a careful analysis of the precise effects of spatial inequality in terms of both vulnerability to Covid-19 and of the capacity to comply with lockdown regulations. They find a stark difference between both lockdown capacity and vulnerability to Covid-19 between rural and urban areas generally. More specifically, they single out the provinces, income and wealth groups, and municipalities that are most severely affected.

Worryingly, they find there is a strong correlation between the lack of capacity to adhere to lockdown and hygiene regulations and advice, and vulnerability to infection.

This builds on the work published in Econ3x3 by founding editor Frederick Fourie, particularly Philippe Burger’s ‘Finance and Business in the time of Corona’ (March 31, 2020), Kate Rivett-Carnac’s study on the impact of the pandemic and lockdowns on tourism supply chains (August 13, 2020), and Ivan Turok and Justin Visagie’s article on how the pandemic has amplified spatial inequalities (October 1, 2020).

These articles all have specific policy implications and recommendations.

The editorial intent of Econ3x3 remains, as before, not only to publish ground-breaking studies that illuminate the nature and causes of unemployment, poverty, and inequality, but to use the evidence to inform policy.

To aid our work, we have expanded the Editorial Advisory Board to include an array of some of the top economic thinkers and researchers in the country on these issues. The Advisory Board will provide critical input on key issues and themes that need to be covered to unveil the specific drivers of the economic challenges that affect too many of South Africa’s people.

Frederick Fourie, the founding editor, leaves an enormous legacy in this publication: he began it as part of the REDI3x3 project in 2012 and it has published cutting-edge economic research since. I hope to build on the substantial foundation he has laid.

I am also deeply grateful to Murray Leibbrandt, director of SALDRU, and Haajirah Esau, manager of the African Centre of Excellence in Inequality Research (ACEIR) for their leadership and support in my new role.

Pippa Green

June 2021

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Working Papers from the REDI3x3 project are available HERE

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Econ3x3 provides a platform to promote robust economic policy discourse in South Africa. The complexity, but also sterility of public debate on many policy issues, demands that knowledgeable individuals engage in robust debate. This can inform other individuals and policymakers on issues that they deal with in day-to-day policy making or policy analysis.

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Manoel Bittencourt

Note from the Editor

Spatial inequality and the impact of the pandemic

Working Papers from the REDI3x3 project are available HERE

READ, WRITE & REASON

Creating jobs, reducing poverty I: Why the informal sector should be taken seriously and enabled properly

Who are the middle class in South Africa? Does it matter for policy?

What is the role of manufacturing in boosting economic growth and employment in South Africa?

Adcorp’s employment and unemployment figures are not taken seriously by researchers – yet they can do much harm

Informal settlements: poverty traps or ladders to work?

Why are foreign-run spaza shops more successful? The rapidly changing spaza sector in South Africa

How high is graduate unemployment in South Africa? A much-needed update

How much is inequality reduced by progressive taxation and government spending?

A job in the informal sector reduces poverty about as much as a job in the formal sector

Who creates jobs, who destroys jobs? Small firms, large firms and labour market rigidity