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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

South Korea Central Bank Signals Inflation Concerns as Oil Prices Surge

South Koreas central bank is expected to place greater emphasis on inflation control after rising global oil prices triggered concerns that inflation could move above the Bank of Koreas 2% target. The warning came from...

Norway Core Inflation Hits 3.2% in April, Fueling Interest Rate Hike Expectations

Norways annual core inflation rate climbed to 3.2% in April, reinforcing expectations that the countrys central bank could maintain higher interest rates for a longer period. The latest figures, released by Statistics...

Goldman Sachs Delays Fed Rate Cut Forecast to 2026 Amid Rising Inflation Concerns

Goldman Sachs has pushed back its forecast for U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, now expecting reductions in December 2026 and March 2027 instead of the previously projected September and December 2026 cuts. The...

ECB Signals Possible Interest Rate Move if Inflation Outlook Fails to Improve

European Central Bank (ECB) governing council member Martin Kocher signaled that the ECB may soon need to adjust interest rates if inflation in the eurozone does not show meaningful improvement. His comments, published...

Indian Stock Market Drops as Iran Conflict Fuels Oil Price and Inflation Fears

Indian stock markets opened sharply lower on Monday as investors reacted to growing concerns over the economic fallout from the escalating Middle East conflict and rising crude oil prices. The Nifty 50 index declined 1.2%...

Politics

US Auto Industry Urges Trump to Block Chinese EV Market Access

As President Donald Trump prepares for a high-profile meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, pressure is mounting from U.S. automakers, lawmakers, unions, and manufacturers urging the administration to keep Chinese...

Trump-Xi Summit Sparks Renewed Hope for Americans Detained in China

Families of two Americans imprisoned in China for more than a decade are urging U.S. President Donald Trump to raise their cases during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The detainees, Dawn Michelle Hunt and...

Trump Rejects Iran Proposal as Strait of Hormuz Crisis Pushes Oil Prices Higher

Oil prices surged Monday after former U.S. President Donald Trump rejected Irans latest response to a U.S.-backed peace proposal, raising fears that the ongoing Middle East conflict could intensify and further disrupt...

Taiwan Confident in Strong U.S. Relations Ahead of Trump-Xi China Summit

Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said Monday that Taipei remains confident in the stable growth of Taiwan-U.S. relations as U.S. President Donald Trump prepares for a high-profile visit to China this week. Trump is...

Netanyahu Signals Plan to End Reliance on U.S. Military Aid Within 10 Years

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel aims to gradually eliminate its dependence on U.S. military assistance over the next decade while expanding strategic partnerships with Gulf nations. In an interview...

Science

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...

NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey

NASAs Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanitys return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission...

NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

Technology

Nintendo Shares Tumble as Weak Forecast and Rising Switch 2 Costs Worry Investors

Nintendo shares plunged on Monday after the Japanese gaming giant posted annual earnings that missed analyst expectations and issued a weaker-than-expected outlook for the current fiscal year. The disappointing forecast...

AI-Driven Inflation Raises U.S. Consumer Prices, Goldman Sachs Says

Artificial intelligence is starting to increase U.S. consumer prices through rising costs in electronics, software, and electricity, according to a new Goldman Sachs report. The investment bank said AI-related inflation...

Judge Delays SEC Settlement With Elon Musk Over Twitter Stock Disclosure Case

A federal judge has declined to immediately approve a proposed $1.5 million settlement between Elon Musk and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) tied to Musks 2022 Twitter stock purchase disclosures. The...

Broadcom Eyes $35 Billion AI Chip Financing Deal With Apollo and Blackstone

Broadcom Inc. is reportedly in discussions with Apollo Global Management and Blackstone Inc. to secure around $35 billion in financing for its expanding artificial intelligence chip business, according to a Bloomberg...

Dell Stock Hits Record High After Trump Endorsement, AI Server Demand Fuels Rally

Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL) surged to an all-time high on Friday after receiving a public endorsement from President Donald Trump during a White House event. The president encouraged Americans to go out and buy...