Whilst most economic course work focuses either on macroeconomic relationships or on their micro foundations, at the practical level of public sector policy analysts and policy makers, considerable attention is paid to the intermediate or meso level of economic analysis. Key sector analysis, sectoral impact studies, partial and general equilibrium trade and industry analysis are frequently conducted both in the public as well as the private sector.
An often used tool to conduct meso-level economic enquiry is input-output analysis usually extended by means of social accounting matrices. Although it is likely that only few public sector policy analysts will actually employ on a full time basis such analysis, there are currently only a handful of input-output and social accounting matrix practitioners in South Africa, many will nevertheless during their active career come across reports and applications, in which results of such analysis are presented.
In the light of the above TIPS in association with UCT's School of Economics and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is considering a week long course on input-output/social accounting matrix multiplier analysis during the second week of July 2001. Although it will be part of the Masters program at UCT's school of economics, the course will be stand alone and cover topics such as building the underlying data base from disparate data sources, national accounts consistency, descriptive analysis and snapshot pictures of the economy at hand, multipliers and their interpretation, simple policy applications with a social accounting matrix, the price model, short comings of simple multiplier analysis.
The course will be conducted at UCT's computer lab, with hand on instructions. The working platform will be the MS Excel spreadsheet software and participants are expected to have a solid understanding of its functionality. The course will be concluded with a short group assignment and presentation. The course instructors will be supplied by staff member of the Trade and Macroeconomics Division of IFPRI ( http://www.ifpri.cgiar.org/ ).