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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

Arctic Ambitions and Tariff Tremors: Trump’s Greenland Gambit Rattles Global Markets

Geopolitical Ambitions: The U.S. aims to establish a missile defense system (Golden Dome) in the Arctic, secure critical minerals and rare earths, and control Arctic shipping lanes, reflecting the increasing strategic...

WTI Crude Oil Prices Slide as Inventory Concerns and Geopolitical Risks Weigh on Market

West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices declined on Wednesday as traders focused on mounting geopolitical uncertainty and expectations of a build in U.S. crude inventories, which overshadowed supply disruptions from...

Asian Markets Slide as “Sell America” Fears Rattle Global Stocks, Bonds, and Currencies

Asian stock markets extended their losses for a third consecutive session on Wednesday as rising geopolitical tensions and renewed fears of a Sell America trade weighed heavily on investor sentiment. Markets were unsettled...

Dollar Slips Near Multi-Week Lows as Greenland Tensions and Japan Bond Turmoil Shake Markets

The U.S. dollar hovered near three-week lows against the euro and Swiss franc on Wednesday as renewed geopolitical tensions and fiscal concerns triggered a broad selloff across U.S. assets, including stocks, bonds, and the...

U.S. Stock Futures Edge Higher After Wall Street Rout, Netflix Slumps on Outlook

U.S. stock index futures rose modestly on Tuesday evening following Wall Streets sharpest losses in three months, as investors continued to digest escalating geopolitical tensions linked to President Donald Trumps renewed...

Politics

Trump Signs Executive Order to Limit Wall Street Investment in Single-Family Homes

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening signed a new executive order designed to curb Wall Street investors from buying and speculating on single-family homes, a move aimed at improving housing affordability and...

Trump’s Greenland Ambition Sparks NATO Tensions, Trade War Fears, and Global Market Turmoil

U.S. President Donald Trump has reignited international controversy by declaring there is no going back on his ambition to control Greenland, a move that has unsettled NATO allies, strained U.S.-Europe relations, and...

Syria Announces Ceasefire With Kurdish Forces as U.S. Pushes Integration Deal

Syria has announced a four-day ceasefire with Kurdish-led forces in the northeast, marking one of the most significant shifts in territorial control since the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad over a year ago. The...

U.S. Plans NATO Staff Reductions, Raising Fresh Concerns Over Alliance Commitment

The United States is planning to reduce the number of personnel stationed at several key NATO command centers, a move that is already heightening concerns across Europe about Washingtons long-term commitment to the...

Trump Says U.S. and NATO Will Reach Agreement on Greenland’s Future

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States and NATO will eventually come to an agreement regarding the future of Greenland, emphasizing that any deal would satisfy both Washington and the military...

Science

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...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Technology

HKEX’s Permissive IPO Rules Could Open Opportunities for Korea to Strengthen Its Position in International Listings

In 2025, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) became the premier venue for initial public offerings (IPOs) globally, having raised nearly US$36 billion from new listings. This notable 200% year-on-year increase is directly...

Global DRAM Chip Shortage Puts Automakers Under New Cost and Supply Pressure

Automakers worldwide are bracing for renewed cost pressures and potential production disruptions as a deepening global shortage of memory chips, particularly DRAM, intensifies due to surging demand from data centres and...

OpenAI Launches Stargate Community Plan to Offset Energy Costs and Support Local Power Infrastructure

OpenAI has officially unveiled its Stargate Community plan, a new initiative designed to ensure that the massive energy demands of its AI data centers do not drive up electricity costs for local communities. Announced on...

Elon Musk Says Tesla Cybercab and Optimus Production Will Start Slowly Before Rapid Growth

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has cautioned investors and technology enthusiasts that the early production rate of the companys highly anticipated Cybercab robotaxi and Optimus humanoid robot will be agonizingly slow before...

Micron to Buy Powerchip Fab for $1.8 Billion, Shares Surge Nearly 10%

Shares of Taiwans Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp jumped nearly 10% on Monday following news that U.S. memory chip giant Micron Technology plans to acquire one of Powerchips fabrication facilities in Taiwan,...