Policy seminar – Firm level analysis

Firm level analysis

Thu, 21 January 2016

This policy seminar and project meeting, held in partnership with the South African Revenue Service and National Treasury, brings together high level audience to discuss the goals and preliminary results of the Firm Level Analysis project which is part of UNU-WIDERs current research initiative Regional Growth and Development in Southern Africa. The Firm level analysis project aims to enhance the use of tax data for policy purposes. This effort in South Africa is one of the first and most advanced on the African continent. It benefits from close collaboration between SARS and the Economic Policy unit of the National Treasury.

Programme  
Time Item
08:30-09:00 Registration & Tea
09:00-09:10 Opening – Dr Randall Carolissen, South African Revenue Service
09:10-09:20 Opening comments – Landon McMillan, National Treasury
09:20-09:55 Insights from SARS’ administration records (Chair: Elizabeth Gavin, SARS)
  • The impact of taxes on small business sales and profitability: Evidence from tax schedule discontinuities - Wian Boonzaaier, National Treasury
  • Understanding total factor productivity - Friedrich Kreuser, University of Stellenbosch
  • Understanding firm investment in South Africa - Duncan Pieterse – National Treasury
  • Concentration and markups in the manufacturing sector - Johannes Fedderke, Pennsylvania State University
  • Firm productivity and export responses to imported intermediate inputs - Lawrence Edwards, University of Cape Town
  • Exports and productivity in South Africa - Marianne Matthee, North West University
09:55-10:20 Q&A
10:20-10:30 Closing remarks – Channing Arndt, United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research