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Seán Mfundza Muller

Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Johannesburg

Academic economist at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), where I lecture on microeconomics and industrial policy. Research interests and areas are wide-ranging, but with a particular focus on methodological issues in microeconometrics and the use of economic analysis for policy. I currently lecture on microeconomics and industrial policy. Affiliated to the Public and Environmental Economics Research Centre (PEERC) at UJ.

Previously worked at the University of Cape Town lecturing public sector economics, quantitative methods and history of economic thought. Recently left the Parliamentary Budget Office of South Africa, where I was producing analysis and advice for parliamentary committees on public finance and economics matters.

South Africa's medium-term budget reflects difficult and contested decisions

Nov 02, 2023 13:31 pm UTC| Politics

The medium-term budget policy statement presented by South Africas finance minister, Enoch Godongwana, to parliament on 1 November 2023 is intended to provide a preview of governments public finance plans over the next...

Emerging Market Crisis Series

Budget shows treasury is desperately short of ideas to fix South Africa's economic woes

Mar 01, 2020 13:09 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy

At the core of this years budget proposals from South Africas national treasury is the admission that national debt is no longer expected to stabilise. In previous years, bar one brief exception, budgets and medium-term...

South Africa's energy crisis has triggered lots of ideas: why most are wrong

Jan 24, 2020 05:54 am UTC| Insights & Views Business

Since late last year South Africans have, once again, been subjected to power cuts by the power utility, Eskom. The need for whats called loadshedding planned power outages led to the recent resignation of Eskoms...

Randomised trials in economics: what the critics have to say

Dec 13, 2019 07:23 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

The 2019 Nobel Prize has been awarded to three scholars for pioneering recent attempts to answer microeconomic issues in development using randomised experiments. Over the last three decades randomised trials have...

How randomised trials became big in development economics

Dec 10, 2019 05:16 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

The 2019 Nobel Prize in economics was awarded to three researchers for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty, one which has transformed development economics. What are randomised experiments? And why...

South Africa needs a functioning parliamentary budget office: now's the time to fix it

May 25, 2019 06:47 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

South Africas Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) is in complete disarray. In the 10 years since it was established by law, and the five years it has been in operation, the Office has failed to adhere to key principles of...

South Africa's new finance minister postpones tough decisions

Oct 29, 2018 19:56 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

South African finance minister Tito Mbowenis 2018 medium-term budget policy statement brought no surprises. Standing before the National Assembly on Wednesday 24 October, Mboweni presented the Natural Treasurys fiscal...

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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....