Development Policy Research Unit (DPRU)
@dpru-uct.bsky.social
The Development Policy Research Unit (DPRU) based in the University of Cape Town's School of Economics. Our research aims to inform economic policy surrounding labour markets, poverty, and inequality. https://commerce.uct.ac.za/dpru
HAROON BHORAT (@haroonbhorat.bsky.social, our colleague at @dpru-uct.bsky.social): Getting the numbers right on the informal economy www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/2...
HAROON BHORAT: Getting the numbers right on the informal economy
It is wrong to assume that what is true at the local level must translate to a 1:1 relationship at national level
businesslive.co.za
Very grateful to be in Senegal 🇸🇳 for the first time this week for @j-pal.bsky.social’s Summer School on advanced randomised evaluation design. Many thanks to J-PAL, CESAG, @afd-france.bsky.social, and others for hosting me!
Powerful insights to kick off the WIDER Development Conference! 3 key takeaways that resonated deeply: ☂️ Social protection is foundational 💼 Employment is the engine of development 💡 We need transformative thinking go.unu.edu/1bvUf #WIDERDevConf2025
Fascinating research presented by WIDER Visiting Scholar Timothy Köhler on South Africa's social relief grant. The paper reveals cash transfers to the unemployed boosted 🔎job search 📦business attempts 💼employment though long-term effects aren't universal #WIDERDevConf2025
An exciting workshop at UNU-WIDER earlier this week, as researchers gathered to finetune their research plans and both hear and provide expert feedback. Follow the project, a part of @schmidtsciences.bsky.social initiative on AI at work: go.unu.edu/5OVXX
First one of our spring 2025 Visiting Scholars to be introduced is @timkohler.bsky.social. Coming from @dpru-uct.bsky.social, he is a micro-economist focused on labour markets, social protection, and policy evaluation in lower-income countries. Meet our visitors: go.unu.edu/D0wIP
How have the returns to education evolved during the post-Apartheid era in South Africa?🇿🇦 Read about it in a new short Econ3x3 blog I’ve put together below, summarizing a 2024 RESEP paper also below. www.econ3x3.org/article/how-... Full paper for those interested: resep.sun.ac.za/wp-content/u...
How have the returns to education evolved in post-apartheid South Africa? | Econ3x3
econ3x3.org
Very grateful to be in beautiful Maastricht🇳🇱 today to present some work at @unumerit.bsky.social. Thanks for having me! If you’re interested in attending in-person or online: go.unu.edu/9zq7Q
Excited to be joining @unu-wider.bsky.social in Helsinki 🇫🇮 as a Visiting Scholar for 3 months starting in April! While there, my work will focus on social protection policy & labor market inequality in lower-income countries, with a particular focus on South Africa. Very much looking forward to it!
In the News: 'Noncompliance with minimum wage rising, study finds' New Business Day article referencing Haroon Bhorat, @timkohler.bsky.social, and Ben Stanwix's evaluation of the labour market effects of the 2024 ⬆️ in South Africa’s🇿🇦 National Minimum Wage. www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/...
Noncompliance with minimum wage rising, study finds
National minimum wage is a theoretical exercise that does not take cognisance of stakeholder inputs, says Neasa
businesslive.co.za
🚨New paper!🚨 Now published in Energy Economics, we (w/ @HaroonBhorat) provide the 1st estimates of the labour market effects of frequent & severe power outages (known as “load shedding”) in South Africa 🇿🇦 Full (OA) paper available here: doi.org/10.1016/j.en... 🧵 below! 1/n
A great way to end the year 🎉 My paper, co-authored w/ Haroon Bhorat, on the labour market effects of SA’s🇿🇦 SRD grant is now published in World Development. We began this work back in 2020. So happy it found a good home! Full (OA) paper here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #EconSky
Commissioned by SA's🇿🇦 Department of Employment and Labour, DPRU Director Prof. Haroon Bhorat, Senior Research Officer Ben Stanwix, & Junior Research Fellow Dr. @timkohler.bsky.social conducted an econometric evaluation of the labour market effects of the 2024 ⬆️ in the National Minimum Wage (NMW).