William Gumede
The Economic Decline of South Africa
Summary
Why has South Africa’s economy declined so precipitously over the past few years? Many emerging market peers such as Poland, South Korea and India have experienced high levels of economic growth, industrial transformation and substantial advances in human development. South Africa, on the other hand, has de-industrialised, is experiencing a low-growth trajectory and has regressed on key development indicators.
William Gumede
Professor William Gumede is based at the School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand. He is also a board member of the Centre for Public Authority in Policy, London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE) and an advisory board member of the Global Public Policy Institute, Berlin. William is the founder of the Democracy Works Foundation now based in eight countries, as well as the Institute for Social Dialogue, which tackles resource-based conflicts. He also advised the South African government on the establishment of several state agencies, including the Parliamentary Budget Office, the Infrastructure Project Preparation Fund, and the Green Fund. He has won several South African and international awards for activism, journalism, and writing, including the South African Courageous Journalism Award (1995), the British Diageo Award for Excellence in Reporting on Africa for work on Nigeria (2005), and was awarded a Special Commendation by UNESCO (2006). He is also a bestselling author whose most recent book is South Africa in BRICS (2013).