On the Airwaves: SALDRU/Harvard Study on Need for Universal Access to ARV Therapy

22 June 2017 | SALDRU

Brendan Maughan-Brown of SALDRU and Ingrid Katz of Harvard Medical School recently published a commentary in The Lancet HIV to accompany a research article that found substantial improvements in mortality reduction and increased life expectancy for HIV-positive patients who initiate antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Europe and North America. The researchers note that while similar positive effects from ART are possible in SA and people living with HIV can have a near-normal life expectancy, these gains are only achieved if individuals start treatment early in the disease progression. Their commentary highlights the need to ensure universal access to early ART, especially for the world’s most vulnerable populations. The significance of the study was not lost on the media. The BBC World Service interviewed Ingrid, whilst Cape Talk caught up with Brendan. Listen to Brendan's interview on Soundcloud.

Launch of Youth Explorer Widely Publicised by the Media

20 June 2017 | SALDRU

More than two decades after democracy, what prospects do young South Africans have? Sadly two thirds of the country’s children live in poverty whilst about 50% of young people are without jobs.

In response, the Poverty and Inequality Initiative, a UCT-wide initiative housed at SALDRU and headed by SALDRU’s Director, Prof. Murray Leibbrandt, has developed a web tool called the Youth Explorer to help policy makers and other stakeholders access vital information about young people. Access to such comprehensive data is aimed at improving policy responses.

The Youth Expolorer's launch, which took place on June 16, was well received by both online and print media. The Daily Dispatch and the New Age both carried articles in their print editions, whilst several other publications covered the launch of the new web tool on their online platforms. Read about the Youth Explorer at The Conversation, Mail & Guardian, Times Live, Sowetan, and IT Online. 

SALDRU at the International Economics Association’s 18th World Congress

21 June 2017 | SALDRU

SALDRU’s Murray Leibbrandt is participating in the International Economics Association’s 18th World Congress in Mexico from 19-23 June where he is presenting the co-authored paper, “Schooling inequality, returns to schooling, and earnings inequality: Evidence from Brazil and South Africa”. This event attracts the world’s leading economists, including leading lights such as Joseph Stiglitz.

The International Economic Association (IEA) is a world federation of economic associations from both developed and developing countries. It aims to promote the advance of economic science and policy on issues of global importance through enhanced interaction amongst global economists. The world congress is the only global meeting embracing all fields of economics from theory to empirics.

Learn more about the IEA here and view its 18th World Congress Program here.

Celebrating Academic Excellence: A Master's with Distinction 

20 June 2017 | SALDRU

Zunda Chisha has passed his Master’s thesis with distinction. His thesis focused on smoking inequalities in Namibia and their relationship with health care spending. Using data from the Namibia Demographic Health Survey of 2013, the study contributes to developing an understanding of the socioeconomic disparities in smoking. His results show that smoking prevalence and intensity (how many cigarettes smokers smoke on average) are concentrated among the poor in Namibia while healthcare expenditure is concentrated among the rich.

Zunda is a research officer at the Economics of Tobacco Control Project. He plans to register for a PhD in economics. The Economics of Tobacco Project is housed at SALDRU. 

NIDS Panel Data Course: An introduction to analysing waves 1-4 using Stata

31 July to 4 August 2017

This five day training course is designed for people who are interested in using the NIDS panel data but have not yet done so. Participants should have honours-level Econometrics, and prior experience using STATA to analyze cross-sectional household survey data.

Online application is open.
Click here for more information or download the flyer.

Watch This Space for More Information about SALDRU's Weekly Seminars!

22 June 2017 | SALDRU

SALDRU hosts a weekly Wednesday lunch hour seminar. Our seminar series gives our researchers and others working in the field of economics an opportunity to present their work and elicit valuable feedback. The Seminar Series is co-ordinated by SALDRU's deputy director, Cally Ardington. 

Seminars are normally hosted in the Seminar Room, 4th Floor, School of Economics, Middle Campus.

Our most recent seminar, which took place on 21 June 2017, examined the problem of predatory publishers that charge fees to authors for open access publishing, but often, with no peer review or other quality controls. This is contributing to declining trust in academic institutions. 

Watch this space or join our mailing list for forthcoming seminar notifications.