Economics and Applications Workshop

Economics & Applications Workshop

The workshop focuses on macroeconomic theory and the application of economic principles to explain and analyse the South African economy. Topics covered will include research methodology, data manipulation, statistical techniques, basic economic model building, and effective report writing. Participants will gain confidence in the application of economic theory in analysing the South African economy on a national and sub-national level.

For subscribers to IHS Global Insight’s Regional eXplorer (ReX), the workshop will strengthen the theoretical knowledge and practical applications of the variables and data contained within the program. IHS Global Insight’s ReX is a consolidated platform of integrated databases that provides accurate and up-to-date economic, socioeconomic, demographic, and development information on a spatial level for South Africa.

The workshop is presented by an associate professor at a leading South African university who has more than 30 years of experience as a lecturer in the various fields of economics, including microeconomics, macroeconomics, monetary economics, development economics, public sector economics, and international economics. His involvement in consulting and training projects for government and private institutions enables him to demonstrate the link between the theory of economics and the application thereof in the workplace and in practice.

Who should attend the course?

This course will be of value to individuals who perform national and sub-national demographic, economic, and socioeconomic research. It will benefit organisations and individuals that need to understand the current market fundamentals of a region. Users may include:

IDP and LED managers
Provincial and local government officials and analysts
Development economists
Investment researchers
Town and regional planners
Market researchers

Course outcome

Participants who have completed the workshop will feel comfortable undertaking economic and socioeconomic analysis and compile sub-national profiles both at a basic and advanced level.

Upon completion of the workshop, participants will be able to:

Understand and interpret demographic, economic, and socioeconomic variables
Calculate demographic, economic, and socioeconomic variables
Compile national and sub-national economic and development profiles
Identify the underlying relationship between economic variables
Understand research methodology
Extract and manipulate data
Build a basic economic model
Apply statistical techniques in Excel
Write effective reports

ReX (Regional eXplorer) topics covered

ReX users may select a unique training package from the different modules covered in the product. Within each module, attention is given to the theory, method of calculation, and interpretation of the variables.

Modules covered in ReX:
General Economic Overview

1. Demographic
Population by gender, age, and race
Population growth rate
Number of households by race
Number of people by first language

2. Development
Human development index (HDI) by race
Gini coefficient by race
Number of people in poverty by race (R / month, $1 and $2 / day)
Highest level of education
Functional literacy by race
Population density by race
Urbanisation by race

3. Labour
Economically active population by race and gender
Number of unemployed people by race and gender
Unemployment rate by race and gender
Formal employment by 34 detailed SIC sectors
Informal employment by 6 broad SIC sectors

4. Income and Expenditure
Households by income category and race
Personal and disposable income by race
Per capita and per household income by race
Expenditure per product type
Retail sales by retail category
Index of buying power

5. Economic
Gross value added (GVA-R) by 34 detailed SIC sectors (nominal, real, per capita)
Gross domestic product (GDP-R) (nominal, real, per capita)
Labour remuneration (nominal)
Gross operating surplus
Tress index
Location quotient

6. International Trade
Imports and exports
By trade bloc and economic sector
By geographic area and economic sector
By country
By harmonized system (HS), two-digit

Course options

The course is offered in packages of up to 5, up to 10, or more than 10 participants. A customised workshop may be arranged for clients who require a specialised session.