Launched in 2016, the annual Public Economics Winter School was an important component of GTAC’s public economics capacity building initiative for six years. 

Public Economics Winter School

In 2023 this was been expanded to include the PEPA Savings@Work Conference under the banner Public Economics Conference.

The Public Economic Conference offers an opportunity for post-graduate economics students, young professionals working in the private sector, public officials at a national, provincial and local level and economists and academics to engage with senior public sector officials and university academics locally and internationally. The Conference is hosted over a three day period, and participants will have an opportunity to engage with current policy debates and listen to leading researchers and fellow students and young professionals, while exploring South Africa’s public economics challenges.

2023 Public Economics Conference

Annual Performance Plan

The first Public Economics Conference ran from 6 – 7 September 2023 and shine the spotlight on government’s initiatives to boost job creation and address unemployment under the theme “Employment and the economics of job creation: evaluating government employment programmes”.

The conference tapped into the wealth of knowledge accumulated through the research, project reviews and evaluations done by GTAC and the National Treasury over the past decade.

2022 Public Economics Winter School

Public Economics Winter School

The sixth Public Economics Winter School will be held virtually, in partnership with National Treasury. The Winter School will run from 30 August – 1 September 2022 under the theme “Reviving public infrastructure investment for community development”.

The programme will expose students and officials to practical challenges in the infrastructure sector and in municipal management. The programme aims to link insights from public economics and development theory to the real-life decision processes and institutional realities of “building a better life for all”.

2021 Public Economics Winter School

Public Economics Winter School

The fifth Public Economics Winter School was a virtual event held in partnership with the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME). It ran from 17 – 19 August 2021.

The 2021 Winter School focused on a crucial public economics issue – the impact and consequences of Covid-19 on South Africa’s people and the economy. The programme capitalised on the research done as part of the Covid-19 Country Report, as well as the NIDS-CRAM research, with the theme Covid-19: Policy choices towards containment and recovery.

2019 Public Economics Winter School

Public Economics Winter School

The fourth Public Economics Winter School ran from 8-12 July 2019 at the South African Reserve Bank. The three themes covered were as follows:

  • Taxes, User Charges and Behavioural Change
  • Education Financing and Outcomes
  • Fiscal Policy and Fiscal Sustainability

2018 Public Economics Winter School

Public Economics Winter School

The third Public Economics Winter School ran from 9-13 July 2018 at the South African Reserve Bank. The three themes covered were as follows:

  • Tax Policy and Design
  • Infrastructure Investment for Inclusive Growth
  • Urban Integration and Human Settlement Investment

2017 Public Economics Winter School

Public Economics Winter School

The second Public Economics Winter School ran from 3-7 July 2017 at the University of Pretoria. The themes covered were as follows:

  • Tax Policy and Design
  • Housing and Urban Development
  • The Role of the State in Financial Markets

2016 Public Economics Winter School

Public Economics Winter School

The first GTAC Public Economics Winter School took place from 11 -15  July 2016 at the University of Pretoria. The three themes covered were as follows:

  • Tax Policy and Design
  • Industrial Economic Competitiveness
  • Health Reform and Social Security