GTAC Public Economics Winter School: Covid-19: Policy trade-offs towards containment and recovery 

GTAC is pleased to announce the return of its annual Public Economics Winter School! In July 2016 the first Public Economics Winter School was hosted at the University of Pretoria. After the success of the inaugural Winter School it went on to become a much sought after opportunity for post-graduate economics students country-wide, as well as for young economists from the Treasury and other government departments. The participants shared their enthusiasm about the forum and the discipline, so much so that the Winter Schools of 2017, 2018 and 2019 were oversubscribed!

And now we are back and very pleased to invite you to the first virtual Public Economics Winter School, a three-day event planned for Tuesday 17, Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 August 2021, this year in partnership with the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME). We aim to gather all interested economics, law and social science students, and offer them an event consisting of lectures and panel discussions with local and international experts around a crucial public economics issue – the impact and consequences of Covid-19 on the South African people and the economy.

The theme for the 2021 Winter School is Covid-19: Policy trade-offs towards containment and recovery. The on-going impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has challenged policymakers with more complex trade-offs than ever before. Government needs to choose carefully among many options in managing the economy during containment of the pandemic, and towards recovery. The three-day event will offer ample opportunity for discussion and debate, around issues such as the role and responsibility of government in managing disasters and supporting the most vulnerable, as well as sessions on health economics.