SAGA Progress Report
April, 2004

1. We finalized participation in the volume on Poverty and Policy in Post- Apartheid South Africa, to be edited by Haroon Bhorat and Ravi Kanbur (list of papers given in last report). First drafts are due for the October conference (see below).
   
   
2. Work continued at the Development Policy Research Unit (DPRU) on the evolution of poverty in South Africa, 1995-2000, based on Labour Surveys and the October Household Surveys, given the conclusion reached on the unsuitability of the Income and Expenditure Survey for 2000 for this task.
   
   
3. A major conference on "Poverty and Development in Africa: The Macro-Micro Linkage," was planned. The Call for Papers went out February 15, 2004. The conference is jointly organized by DPRU, Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS), and Cornell. DPRU and TIPS have organized South Africa specific conferences in the past, but this is the first time DPRU is venturing out to organize an Africa-wide conference. The selection of papers will be made by June 15, and the conference will be held in October.
   
   
4. DPRU continued work on its AERC-funded proposal on labor markets and its SISERA funded proposal on education. On the latter, a Cornell graduate student visited South Africa to explore becoming part of the research exercise and helping especially on the econometric aspects.
   
   
5. The success of DPRU’s course on Poverty Analysis in June 2003 led to a request from the South African Department of Social Development (DSD) to repeat the course for its staff and for the staff of other government departments. The course was repeated in March 2004, with support from Cornell personnel. Apart from DSD staff, staff from the National Treasury also participated.
   
   
6. While visiting South Africa on SAGA business, Ravi Kanbur gave a public lecture organized by USAID-South Africa, on "Growth, Inequality and Poverty: Some Hard Questions." The lecture was chaired by the Director of USAID in South Africa and was attended by high level officials, including the Director-General of the South African Treasury.
   
   
7. While in South Africa, Ravi Kanbur also led a seminar on the African Peer Review Mechanism, based on his paper, "The African Peer Review Mechanism: An Assessment of Concept and Design." The seminar was chaired by the UNDP’s Regional Coordinator, and the lead discussant was Chris Stals, former governor of the Reserve Bank of South Africa and now a member of the eminent Africans’ APRM panel.
   
   

Previous Section | Next Section

Return to SAGA Progress Report (April 2004) Table of Contents