2012 December « School of Economics
Monthly Archives: December 2012	December 11, 2012	Die nuus uit Amsterdam 6
Reply	by Waldo Krugell • Samewerking • Tags: Amsterdam, SAVUSA, Vrije Universiteit	Oud-kollega, Me Antoinette van Niekerk, is op die oomblik by die Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Sy is daar met die SAVUSA uitruilprogram en loop ‘n kursus in Omgewingsekonomie. Sy het belowe om ons ophoogte te hou van haar avonture:
Voor ek na Nederland gekom het, was meeste mense se raad: “Nettie, jy moet dit vreeslik geniet. Toer lekker rond en maak die meeste van jou tyd daar!”
Nadat ek elke week `n brief uit Amsterdam stuur, het die mense se raad/vrae verander na: “Nettie, en hoe gaan dit met die klasse? Woon jy dit darem ook by?”
Fiets van die week: Die opvou fiets
Daarom het ek dit goed gedink om almal gerus te stel. Ja, ek woon klas by. En ja, dit gaan goed. Dis `n Meesters vak in omgewingsekonomie, ons is so 24 studente van Nederland, Duitsland, Italië, China, Suid-Amerika en Suid-Afrika in die klas. Ons is drie Suid-Afrikaanse studente, ek, Kin en Courage. Ek hou van hulle: Courage is so skerp soos `n mes en Kin laat my vreeslik hip voel as hy my groet my met die hand, met die duim wat so click. En dan noem hulle mekaar boonop brother, en ek hou daarvan!
Die kursus was verdeel in twee dele, die eerste gedeelte was `n reeks intressante lesings aangebied deur twee bekwame lektore. Die tweede deel het bestaan uit presentations wat ons twee-twee moes aanbied. Ek en Mnr. Shu Ching-Shu was saam in `n groep. Na elke presentation was `n ander duo gekies om die presentation krities te analiseer en te bespreek. Jy en jou spanmaat het nie geweet wanneer julle gekies gaan word om te bespreek nie so daarom moes almal elke artikel vooraf analiseer en fyn studeer. More…
December 7, 2012	Nuus uit die Skool
1	by Waldo Krugell • Nuus News	Die punte is gefinaliseer, die keurings vir 2013 gedoen en die studentesentrum het gesluit. Al wat nou oor is om te doen is ‘n laaste nuusberig uit die Skool vir 2012.
Riaan Rossouw, Wilma Viviers en Raymond Parsons by BUSA
Die hoogtepunt van die week was ‘n aanbieding wat Prof Wilma Viviers en Riaan Rossouw by Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) gemaak het. Hulle het besigheid se verteenwoordigers meer vertel van TRADE se Decision Support Model (DSM) vir die identifisering van uitvoergeleenthede. As jy meer wil leer van hierdie navorsing en uitvoergeleenthede, kyk gerus na hulle aanbieding: BUSA DSM 2012 presentation.
Verder is daar nog nagesien, punte gefinaliseer, laaste vergaderings gehou en kantore opgeruim. Prof Saayman se verjaarsdag is met ‘n lekker ontbyt gevier.
Van die blog-bestuur se kant af wil ons graag almal bedank wat hierdie afgelope 9 maande ons berigte geskryf en gelees het. ‘n Besondere woord van dank aan ons gasskrywers. Vanaf ‘n klein begin in April 2012 – met die oog op die Opedag – het ons tot vandag toe 124 “posts” gemaak. In totaal is dit 8530 keer geview en ons het al 23 mense wat die blog volg en sommer die nuutste berigte per e-pos kry. As jy dalk wonder wat aftrek kry, dit is die Research bladsy en die top “post” van 2012 was The impact of tourism on poverty in South Africa.
Daar is groot planne in die pyplyn vir volgende jaar. Dit sluit in spesifieke bladsye vir TRADE en Tourism Economics. Ons dink aan kort videos van die gassprekers by die seminaarreeks. En wil ons graag meer hulpbronne beskikbaar stel vir hoërskool-Ekonomie. Hou die blog dop.
Vir eers wil die Skool graag vir almal ‘n geseënde Kersfees en voorspoedige 2013 toewens.
December 6, 2012	Opinion: An economist’s take on the 12 days of Christmas
Reply	by Waldo Krugell • RPP • Tags: Christmas shopping, PPP	It is December and Christmas hits are playing in shopping malls throughout the land. To conclude this year’s opinion posts we are offering an economist’s take on the Christmas shopping list.
Still deciding what to send your truelove for Christmas? The song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is the traditional English carol that tells of a series of increasingly impressive gifts given on each of the twelve days of Christmas from a person to his/her truelove.
After Eights in Santa format are not on the list (yet)
What makes this song so impressive is that the PNC Bank (in the U.S.) designed a Christmas Price Index, 29 years ago, according to the cost inflation of the products listed in the song. The song has been suggested to have been rewritten in English from French in approximately 1780. This index based on the song, calculates the current cost for each of the gifts that were presented in the song. This is a simple and fun illustration for students and the media to better understand the concept of the consumer price index (CPI), as the price changes are closely linked to the CPI.
The aim of this piece is however to determine the costs of the 13 gifts in the song purchased locally, compared to the cost of the same gifts purchased abroad. This will help determine whether shopping locally is more affordable than shopping abroad. Below is a list of all the gifts presented in the song, together with their 2012 prices. Local prices were obtained from Gumtree, Bid or buy, OLX, Avizandum and My wage, while international prices were obtained from local jewelry, pet and remaining U.S. stores, compiled by the PNC Bank. More…
December 5, 2012	The econoblogosphere is here
Reply	by Waldo Krugell • Nuus News • Tags: blog, econ3x3, Economics, forum, South Africa	The econoblogosphere has finally arrived in South Africa with a local version of the Project Syndicate or Vox.eu that we all know and love. It is called Econ3x3 (3 by 3).
It is an independent forum for critical public debate on unemployment and employment, income distri­bution and inclusive growth in South Africa. It publishes accessible research-based contribu­tions and expert commentaries.
The blog is an initiative of the Research Project on Employment, Income Distribution and Inclusive Growth, based at SALDRU and supported by National Treasury. The editor is Prof Frederick Fourie and there is a list of well-know advisors. Their target audience is everyone who is interested in the South African economy and the challenges that we face, including academic and private sector economists, policymakers, bureaucrats, the media and students.
They already have a number of good posts up to get the reading and reasoning going. There is:
Philippe Burger on the NDP and export-led growth.
Anthony Black on industrial policy and unemployment.
Eddie Rakabe on the jobs fund and youth wage subsidy.
There is also a debate that you can join on Why does the informal economy not generate employment?
My hope is that this will be an open and vibrant forum with lots of people contributing their views. I think that many academic economists are still reluctant to discuss their research in such a popular forum, and even to comment on blogs. Hopefully this will get us all reading, writing and reasoning.
2	More about us
Read our Blog per categoryRead our Blog per category
Our blog’s RSS feedsRSS - Posts
Blog Stats	87,909 hits
Recent Posts	Fieldwork in the April recess
A winning PhD Thesis!
Q1 round-up post – students
Q1 round-up post – the events
Q1 round-up post – the lecturers
Post-grad shines at the Budget Speech Competition
Post-grads also go to conferences
Top Posts & Pages	Vergoeding van kapitaal en arbeid	Opedag 2016	Research: Does conservation make sense to local communities?	Ekonomiese kringloop	Ekonomiese kringloop en die nasionale rekeninge	Ekonomiese en vrye goedere	Op aanvraag: Die vraagkant-ekonomie storie vir Suid-Afrika	Puk-Ekonomie	Puk-Ekonomie