​​The Department of Economics at Stellenbosch University (SU) recently hosted the first ever economics PhD conference in South Africa. It was attended by 23 PhD candidates from eight universities across the country who presented their doctoral research.

According to Prof Andrie Schoombee, Chair of the Department of Economics, “The aim was to provide a forum for PhD students from throughout South Africa to meet, discuss their research and present to their peers."

The keynote address was delivered by Dr Nara Monkam, Director of Research at the African Tax Administration Forum, an international organisation which provides a platform for cooperation among African tax authorities. She discussed her work on property tax and the potential it presents for African countries, a topic that could not have been better suited for the event as many of the PhD candidates from African countries were doing research on macroeconomic policy.

A brief response by Prof Ingrid Woolard, Dean of the Faculty of Economic Management Sciences, was followed by a robust discussion that highlighted the politico-economic and logistical complexities of the issue.

The programme also included presentations on a wide range of topics including trade issues, rational altruism, risk preferences and job mobility, foreign demand and house prices, financial stress indicators and the effect of hyperinflation on asset poverty. PhD candidates who made presentations will have the opportunity to submit their papers to the Studies in Economics and Econometrics journal for consideration for a special conference edition to be published in 2020.

The next conference is set to take place during the centenary celebrations of the Department of Economics in October 2020, and promises to be a highlight. One of the oldest of its kind in Africa, the SU Department of Economics has quite a long history. The first economics professor at Stellenbosch, Johannes FW Grosskopf, took up his position in 1920.

• Our heartfelt thanks goes to the following sponsors whose contributions made it possible for the presenters to be fully sponsored: Dean's Office, SU Faculty of Economic Management Sciences; Research on Socio-Economic Policy (ReSEP); Economic Society of South Africa; SU Department of Economics; and the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) at SU.
• Photo (supplied): At its first ever PhD conference, the SU Department of Economics hosted 23 PhD candidates from 8 South African universities.