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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

Time to buy local: war fuel price shocks reveal the folly of a long food supply chain

Most of our food travels many thousands of kilometres across Australia to reach our kitchens. We are highly dependent on a vast web of long-haul trucks to move food between growers, massive food distribution hubs and large...

Gold is meant to be a ‘safe haven’ in uncertain times. Why is it crashing amid a war?

Gold has long enjoyed a reputation as a financial safe haven during stormy times. But over the past few months of geopolitical chaos and market panic, the precious metal has moved more like a roller coaster than a steady...

WTO Reform Talks Begin in Cameroon Amid Global Trade Tensions

Trade ministers from around the world convened Thursday in Yaoundé, Cameroon, for a critical four-day summit focused on reforming the World Trade Organization. The high-stakes gathering comes at a turbulent moment...

Japan Eyes Oil Futures Intervention to Stabilize Yen Amid Middle East Crisis

Japan is exploring an unconventional strategy to halt the yens ongoing decline directly intervening in global crude oil futures markets. The proposal, first reported by Reuters, signals Tokyos growing frustration as...

U.S. Stock Futures Steady as Iran Reviews U.S. Ceasefire Proposal

U.S. stock index futures held relatively steady on Wednesday evening after Iran signaled it was reviewing a ceasefire proposal put forward by Washington aimed at ending the ongoing Middle East conflict. The cautious market...

Politics

Russia-Iran Military Alliance Deepens With Drone Shipments Amid Middle East Tensions

Moscow is moving closer to completing a multi-phase transfer of lethal drones, medicine, and food supplies to Tehran, according to Western intelligence sources cited by the Financial Times. The deliveries are designed to...

Iran-U.S. Negotiations: Tehran Reviews American Peace Proposal Amid Ongoing Gulf Conflict

Irans foreign minister confirmed Wednesday that Tehran is examining a United States peace proposal aimed at ending the escalating Gulf war, though officials stressed this falls short of direct negotiations between the two...

FEMA Reinstates $1 Billion Disaster Prevention Grant Program After Court Order

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has announced the resumption of a key disaster prevention initiative after facing legal challenges that forced the reversal of its earlier cancellation. The agency is once again...

Taiwan Arms Deal on Track Despite U.S.-China Summit Uncertainty

Taiwans Defense Minister Wellington Koo confirmed Thursday that the next major U.S. arms sale to the island remains on schedule, revealing that Taipei has already received a formal letter of guarantee from Washington...

G7 Foreign Ministers Gather in France Amid Global Tensions and U.S. Policy Uncertainty

Foreign ministers from the worlds top Western democracies have convened in France this week for a high-stakes two-day summit at the historic 12th-century Abbaye des Vaux-de-Cernay, located roughly 40 kilometers southwest...

Science

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

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...

Technology

Reflection AI Eyes $25 Billion Valuation in Massive $2.5 Billion Funding Round

Nvidia-backed artificial intelligence startup Reflection AI is in advanced discussions to secure $2.5 billion in fresh funding, with negotiations pointing to a staggering pre-money valuation of $25 billion, according to a...

Nanya Technology Shares Surge 10% After $2.5 Billion Private Placement from Sandisk and Cisco

Shares of Taiwan-based memory chip manufacturer Nanya Technology soared to their daily limit of 10% on Thursday morning following the companys announcement of a major $2.5 billion private placement deal backed by prominent...

SK Hynix Eyes Up to $14 Billion U.S. IPO to Fund AI Chip Expansion

South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix has submitted a confidential filing for a U.S. stock market listing in 2026, with sources indicating the move could raise as much as $14 billion. The company intends to offer...

Meta Ties Executive Pay to Aggressive Stock Price Targets in Major Retention Push

Meta Platforms made a significant move this week by granting restricted stock units and stock options to several of its most senior leaders, including Chief Financial Officer Susan Li and Chief Technology Officer Andrew...

SpaceX IPO Filing Expected This Week as Valuation Could Surpass $75 Billion

Elon Musks SpaceX is reportedly moving closer to going public, with plans to submit its initial public offering prospectus to regulators as early as this week or next, according to a report by The Information citing a...