Research Specialist: Human Sciences Research Council, Human Sciences Research Council
Dr Justin Visagie is a research specialist at the Human Sciences Research Council in the Economic Performance and Development Research (EPD) department. He was previously director of Economic Planning, Policy and Research at the Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism in the Eastern Cape. He completed his PhD at the University of KwaZulu-Natal where he won the prestigious Founders’ medal from the Economic Society of South Africa for his thesis on the development of the middle class in South Africa. He also received the Founders’ medal for his Masters and Honours research which explored the measurement of poverty and inequality in South Africa. His broad research interests are in development and urban economics and his recent research outputs cover issues of spatial inequality, social mobility, rural-urban migration and the sustainable upgrading of informal settlements. Dr Visagie has expertise in applied microeconomic analysis and has worked on a wide-array of cross-sectional and longitudinal household datasets.
South Africa should design economic policy based on strengths of regions: here's how
Feb 18, 2022 08:26 am UTC| Economy
Economists and policy-makers seem to have a blind spot when thinking about how the economy functions and what determines success. Analytical frameworks and government policies consistently neglect the role of space and...
What lies behind social unrest in South Africa, and what might be done about it
Aug 22, 2021 01:43 am UTC| Politics
South Africa has among the highest recorded levels of social protest of any country in the world. The reasons behind this are more complex than often assumed. The scale and severity of the looting and sabotage in...
South Africa's new economic proposals highlight the role of services
Sep 06, 2019 07:43 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy
South Africas Finance Minister Tito Mboweni recently published a package of economic policy proposals that warrant serious consideration. They are aimed at reviving the flagging economy whose growth over the past five...
There’s an extra $1 billion on the table for NT schools. This could change lives if spent well
Political donations rules are finally in the spotlight – here’s what the government should do