Rethinking growth-unemployment puzzles in the COVID-19 recession: contextualising SA's macroeconomic policy options

Abstract

The total value of goods and services produced inside South Africas borders fell steeply in the last two quarters of 2019, resulting in a sharp rise in unemployment. The governments latest macroeconomic reforms to lift the country out of the 2019 economic downturn and create sustainable jobs are unlikely to deliver immediate benefits. Interventions promised in the recovery plan will take time to cascade through complex economic sectors, agencies and diverse markets before the jobless at the bottom of the socioeconomic pyramid experience any life improvements. Meanwhile the global COVID-19 pandemic is pulling leading economies into a slump worse than the Great Recession of 2007-2009.