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A fiscus for better economic and social development in South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Francois Jacobus Stofberg

    (Efficient Group)

  • Jan Horn van Heerden

    (University of Pretoria)

  • Heinrich Bohlmann

    (University of Pretoria)

Abstract

After showing that the bulk of government expenditure is unproductive, we consider the impact of an alternative fiscal policy mix in South Africa. The alternative suggests freezing the real government wage bill for five years and using the savings generated by this decision to increase spending on a specific, productive and wealth-creative expenditure item, aggregate investments. By indirectly contributing to greater levels of investments we show how government can generate better levels of economic performance and social development. To analyse the economic consequences of the suggested fiscal policy mix we use TERM-SA a dynamic, regional computable general equilibrium model of South Africa. We also add additional features to provide more accurate and detailed results. Our results show that a wage freeze can increase both real GDP (5.9%) and employment (456,00 jobs) in the long-term.

Suggested Citation

  • Francois Jacobus Stofberg & Jan Horn van Heerden & Heinrich Bohlmann, 2020. "A fiscus for better economic and social development in South Africa," ERSA Working Paper Series 100, Economic Research Southern Africa.
    • Handle: RePEc:rza:ersawp:100
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    File URL: https://ersawps.org/index.php/working-paper-series/article/view/100/75
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • H50 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - General
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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