The research presented is the second phase of a joint post-doctoral project between the Department of Economics at Nelson Mandela University and the Eastern Cape Socio-Economic Consultative Council where they work together to find practical solutions to the serious economic challenges facing the Eastern Cape.

The research presented focuses on strategies for developing successful special economic zones and transnational zones for Southern African countries, to spur growth and employment. The research reviews case studies from across the world by comparing different regions on selected indicators related to the best-practice framework developed in this study. The study forms part of the UNU-WIDER project Southern Africa—Towards Inclusive Economic Development (SA-TIED).

South Africa has had 10 years of National Youth Policy which  forms the basis of the work done at local, provincial and national spheres of government in support of youth entrepreneurship development. The webinar reflects on entrepreneurship outcomes for South African Youth for the period 2010-2019, including 2020 looking at the impact of Covid-19 lockdown.
 
The Department of Economics at Nelson Mandela University presented a webinar on Monday, 2 November 2020, to unpack the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement of 28 October 2020 in tandem with the government’s recent Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (RRP). The topic for the webinar was “The South African Economic Recovery Plan and the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, two weeks apart, are they synchronised?” Emeritus Professor Charles Wait is the main speaker at the online event.