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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

Trump Secures Russian Diesel Deal as US Fuel Prices Surge

US President Donald Trump announced Friday that Russia had agreed to immediately supply diesel to American and global markets, aiming to ease soaring fuel prices ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. However, energy...

Gold Prices Hit One-Week High as Oil Falls, Fed Rate Outlook Weighed

Gold prices climbed for a second consecutive session on Friday, reaching a one-week high as declining oil prices strengthened demand for the precious metal. Investors also assessed the Federal Reserves interest rate...

US Dollar Rises for Fourth Week as Fed Rate Hike Bets Grow

The U.S. dollar extended its winning streak to four consecutive weeks, supported by expectations of additional Federal Reserve interest rate hikes and growing concerns over Europes fiscal stability. Meanwhile, the euro...

Oil Prices Slip as Trump Rules Out Iran Strike Before Midterms

Oil prices edged lower on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington would not launch military strikes against Iran before the November midterm elections, easing concerns over potential disruptions to Middle...

Asian Stocks Mixed as OpenAI Revenue Concerns Hit Chipmakers

Asian stock markets traded unevenly on Friday as semiconductor shares declined following fresh concerns about OpenAIs revenue outlook, while rising oil prices and volatile bond markets weighed on investor sentiment. The...

Politics

Flydubai Co-Pilot Planned Suicide Attack on Israel Airport, UAE Says

An Omani flydubai co-pilot allegedly planned to hijack a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight and crash the aircraft into a terminal at Israels Ben Gurion Airport in a suicide attack on September 30, according to UAE prosecutors. UAE...

Trump Sanctions International Criminal Court, Sparking EU Backlash

US President Donald Trumps administration imposed sweeping sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday, escalating tensions with European allies and raising concerns over the future of international...

JD Vance Questions Pentagon Plan to Livestream Fort Hood Shooter’s Execution

US Vice President JD Vance expressed uncertainty Friday over the Pentagons controversial plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 Fort Hood...

Trump Cancels Alabama Football Trip as Hurricane Isaias Approaches

US President Donald Trump canceled his planned visit to Alabama on Saturday to attend a highly anticipated college football game between Georgia and Alabama, citing safety concerns as Hurricane Isaias approaches the Gulf...

Zelenskiy Slams US-Russia Diesel Deal as Funding War

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has strongly criticized a new US-Russia diesel supply agreement, warning that the deal could provide Moscow with additional financial resources to sustain its ongoing war against...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Robinhood Chain Eyes Priority Gas Auctions for Faster Trades

Robinhood Chain, the Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain designed for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), is reportedly considering a new transaction-ordering system that would allow traders to pay additional fees for faster trade...

Zcash Plans Quantum-Resistant Security Upgrade for January

Zcash (ZEC) developers are preparing to introduce quantum-resistant security features in January 2027, aiming to protect cryptocurrency wallets against potential threats from advanced quantum computing and artificial...

Apple Cuts iPhone 18 Pro Production Orders Amid Weak Demand

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has reportedly instructed several suppliers to reduce component production for its newly released iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, signaling potential challenges for the companys latest...

OpenAI Revenue Hits $50 Billion, Below Earlier $70 Billion Estimate

OpenAI has informed investors that its annualized revenue reached nearly $50 billion in September, significantly below the $70 billion previously indicated, according to a Reuters report on Thursday. The revised figure...

Trump Buys Up to $25M in Meta Stock, Invests in SpaceX Debt

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) shares briefly climbed more than 1% after President Donald Trumps latest financial disclosure revealed a stock purchase worth up to $25 million. The shares later trimmed their gains as...