DR ASGHAR Adelzadeh, a co-director of the Economic Modelling Academy, speaks at its launch. Picture, Timothy Bernard, ANA.
Economic planning in South Africa has been given a boost with the launch of an academy that will provide the necessary training modelling capability to the public and private sector, as well as civil society.
The Economic Modelling Academy (EMA), the first for South Africa, was launched yesterday to strengthen the planning skills of policymakers in crafting modelling scenarios that respond to the complex problems of the 21st century.
The EMA is headed by former Statistician-General Dr Pali Lehohla and Dr Asghar Adelzadeh, the director and chief economic modeller at Applied Development Research Solutions (ADRS).
The EMA provides focused, applied, deep training to enable one to understand and use these advanced analytical tools.
Lehohla said the EMA was a learning organisation established to help develop high-level skills in economic modelling, one of today’s most in-demand skills.
He said it was essentially a capacity building organisation designed to empower people and organisations to skilfully use economic models in spheres of research, policy and planning.
“Its focus is to help those researchers, policy makers, legislators, civil society, professionals in the private sector and anyone involved in planning to develop high level skills to strengthen their contributions in all aspects of decision-making from policy design, impact analysis, predictive analytics to monitoring and evaluation,” Lehohla said.
The academy’s first set of inaugural courses will focus on the first three courses.
Multi-Sector Macroeconomic Modelling will focus on distinguishing features of capitalism, its sources of dynamism, growth, employment, and unemployment.
Modelling Provincial-District-Municipal Economies tackles issues about dynamic two-way industry and macroeconomic interactions between national, provincial, and local economies.
Modelling Social Security And Public Works reviews theories of the causes of social assistance, and alternative interpretations of the consequences of a social assistance program for modern developed and underdeveloped economies.
Thereafter, EMA will offer many other modelling courses, such as those that address poverty-inequality, skills demand and supply, and the green economy.
Additionally, organisations and enterprises may request dedicated courses specifically tailored to the needs of their employees.
The courses are suited for people that already have their first degrees, whose work or occupations involve policy processes, and whose work would benefit from training in understanding and using economic modelling.
Adelzadeh said the EMA was designed to build the capacity of the state, private sector and civil society in evidence-based economic policy design and implementation.
“It helps individuals attain the skillset they need to understand and use economic models in their demanding role in the policy sphere,” he said.
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