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Alan Hirsch

Professor and Director of the Graduate School of Development Policy, University of Cape Town

I have been director of the Graduate School of Development Policy and Practice at University of Cape Town (UCT) since 2013. I was born in Cape Town and educated in Economics, Economic History and History at UCT, Wits and Columbia. After economic research and teaching at the University of Cape Town, I joined the South African Department of Trade and Industry in 1995, managing industry and technology policy. I moved to the Presidency in 2002. I managed economic policy in the South African Presidency, represented the Presidency at the G20, and was co-chair of the G20 Development Working Group. I have served or serve on several boards, and am associated with a range of policy research initiatives including the TIPS, the International Growth Centre for which I was until recently the Zambia Country Director, and the European Centre for Development Policy Management where I am a board member. I was a visiting scholar at the Harvard Business School, a regular visiting professor at the Graduate School of Governance at Maastricht University and a member of the OECD Secretary-General’s Inclusive Growth Advisory Group. I write about economic development issues, including Season of Hope - Economic Reform under Mandela and Mbeki and recently co-edited The Oxford Companion to South African Economics.

Free movement of people across Africa: regions are showing how it can work

Jan 24, 2023 07:58 am UTC| Business Economy

The end of January 2023 will mark five years since the African Union Free Movement of Persons protocol was signed by the African Union. A parallel initiative to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, it was designed...

South Africa has a new presidential advisory unit. Will it improve policy?

May 20, 2019 22:36 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

South Africas President Cyril Ramaphosa is establishing a unit in the presidency which he hopes will improve policy development and coordination. This is an important initiative designed to help him address the huge...

The free movement of people is an AU ambition: what's standing in its way

Aug 01, 2018 14:58 pm UTC| Insights & Views

The African integration project took several major steps this year. One of them was the African Unions adoption of a protocol on the free movement of people. The move has been widely welcomed. The free movement of...

South Africa's Reserve Bank is in the eye of a storm. Academics quiz the governor

May 16, 2017 16:39 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy Central Banks

Central banks everywhere play a critical role in shaping the direction of a countrys economy. The South African Reserve Bank is the central bank of South Africa. Its main mandates are to ensure financial and economic...

Africa is poised for sustainable growth and development. But there are risks

Jan 08, 2017 23:37 pm UTC| Insights & Views

As we know, growth accelerations are pretty commonplace among developing countries. Economist Ricardo Haussman and his colleagues identified 83 growth accelerations of eight consecutive years at 2% higher than the...

Economy

India–U.S. Interim Trade Pact Cuts Auto Tariffs but Leaves Tesla Out

India and the United States have taken a significant step toward strengthening bilateral trade ties with the release of an interim trade framework that includes major tariff reductions on high-end American automobiles and...

Trump’s Inflation Claims Clash With Voters’ Cost-of-Living Reality

Donald Trump has positioned himself as the Republican Partys chief voice on the cost of living during a pivotal election year, but a Reuters review of his recent speeches shows a growing disconnect between his rhetoric and...

South Africa Eyes ECB Repo Lines as Inflation Eases and Rate Cuts Loom

South Africa is keen to make use of potential new European Central Bank (ECB) repo liquidity lines, according to central bank governor Lesetja Kganyago, as the country continues to navigate easing inflation and a gradual...

Russian Stocks End Mixed as MOEX Index Closes Flat Amid Commodity Strength

Russian stocks finished the latest trading session on a mixed note, with the MOEX Russia Index closing flat as gains in select blue-chip shares were offset by losses in others. At the close of trading in Moscow, the...

China Extends Gold Buying Streak as Reserves Surge Despite Volatile Prices

Chinas central bank has continued to strengthen its gold reserves, extending its buying streak to a 15th consecutive month in January, according to the latest data released by the Peoples Bank of China (PBOC). The move...

Politics

Jack Lang Resigns as Head of Arab World Institute Amid Epstein Controversy

Jack Lang, a prominent French political figure and former culture minister under President François Mitterrand, has stepped down from his role as president of the Arab World Institute in Paris following mounting...

US Pushes Ukraine-Russia Peace Talks Before Summer Amid Escalating Attacks

The United States is pressing Ukraine and Russia to reach an agreement to end the war before the start of summer, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said following two days of U.S.-brokered talks held in Abu Dhabi....

Netanyahu to Meet Trump in Washington as Iran Nuclear Talks Intensify

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Wednesday, with Irans nuclear program and regional security topping the agenda. The meeting comes amid renewed...

Trump Backs Nexstar–Tegna Merger Amid Shifting U.S. Media Landscape

U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly endorsed a proposed merger between Nexstar Media Group and Tegna, signaling renewed political attention on the future of local television broadcasting. In a post shared Saturday on...

Japan Election 2026: Sanae Takaichi Poised for Landslide Win Despite Record Snowfall

Japanese voters headed to the polls on Sunday in a rare winter election that could deliver Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi a commanding mandate, even as record snowfall threatened to suppress turnout in parts of the country....

Science

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

Technology

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Says AI Investment Boom Is Just Beginning as NVDA Shares Surge

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang reaffirmed his bullish stance on artificial intelligence, calling the massive capital expenditure flowing into AI infrastructure both appropriate and necessary as the industry...

Amazon Stock Rebounds After Earnings as $200B Capex Plan Sparks AI Spending Debate

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) delivered a mixed but closely watched earnings report, beating Wall Street expectations on revenue while unveiling a massive long-term investment plan that unsettled investors. The e-commerce and...

Global PC Makers Eye Chinese Memory Chip Suppliers Amid Ongoing Supply Crunch

Major PC manufacturers including HP, Dell, Acer, and Asus are reportedly exploring the option of sourcing memory chips from Chinese semiconductor companies for the first time, as a prolonged global supply crunch continues...

OpenAI Expands Enterprise AI Strategy With Major Hiring Push Ahead of New Business Offering

OpenAI is significantly accelerating its enterprise AI strategy by hiring hundreds of new employees for its technical consulting division, according to a report by The Information, citing a person familiar with the...

SoftBank Shares Slide After Arm Earnings Miss Fuels Tech Stock Sell-Off

SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984) shares tumbled sharply on Thursday, tracking a steep decline in Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM) after the UK-based chip designer reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the December quarter....