Modelling Provincial-District-Municipal Economies
Course overview
This course reviews topics in national, regional and local economics. You will learn about dynamic two-way industry and macroeconomic interactions between national, provincial, and local economies. With access to an economy-wide linked model, the course goes into details on why we build linked national-provincial models, their architecture, role of data, statistical analysis and computer programming. Through hands-on practice session, our web-based linked models allow you to forecast the impact of national level policies on provincial economies and the impact of provincial interventions locally, on other provinces and at the national level. Course modules are also dedicated to teaching how to integrate linked national-provincial model projections into provincial and national M&E.
The GIBS /Economic Modelling Academy (EMA) partnership recognizes the importance of economic modelling as advanced analytical and decision-making tools for forward looking entities to ensure well-trained, knowledgeable, and responsible leadership. EMA provides focused, applied and comprehensive training to enable leaders to better understand and use economic models more productively and skillfully.
Course details
About the Course
Content
Following is a brief description of the course content:
- Overview of regional economics and the integration of space and location into basic macroeconomic model
- Macroeconomic concepts, debates and policies
- Review of methods, data requirements, and experiences with linked national-regional modelling
- Presentation of the process of building a South African linked national-provincial-district-municipal model
- Hands-on practice with designing and simulation of policy scenarios with a linked national-provincial-district-municipal model scenarios
- Translating future scenarios into model policy scenarios
- Bridging economic regional modelling and planning, monitoring and evaluation processe
Outcomes
After completion of this course, learners will be able to:
- Explain the differences between national level and linked national-provincial macroeconomic models
- Compare and contrast major debates in macroeconomic theory and policy.
- Elucidate the macroeconomic linkages and interactions within the economy and its regions, and how they affect national and subnational economic
- Explain the purpose and process of building a linked national-subnational model.
- Use a linked national-subnational macroeconomic and industry model to design policies, conduct impact analyses, and predict likely future paths of the national and regional economies.
- Formulate implementation strategies and plans for policy implementation to achieve desired scenario outcomes at national and sub-national levels.
- Participate in and/or effectively manage economic modelling projects.
Requirements
- A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree at NQF level 7 or equivalent plus at least 3 year’s work experience in research/policy/strategy/planning/Monitoring and evaluation.
- A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in economics or related fields requires no work experience
Course Structure
Module 1: Introduction to National-Subnational Macroeconomics
What is the overview of this module?
The purpose of this module is to provide an overview of key topics in regional economics and to provide a non-technical overview of (a) key concepts in macroeconomics, (b) important contributions to macroeconomic theory, (c) debates in macroeconomic policy, and (d) important topics and issues in national and regional macroeconomics.
What topics does this module cover?
- Introduction to national and regional macroeconomics;
- Basics macroeconomic concepts (e.g., output and income, unemployment, and inflation);
- Different schools of thought in economics;
- Views on macroeconomic policy;
- Important macroeconomic topics and issues (e.g., unemployment, role of central bank, rise of finance, economic crisis, globalization).
Who are the instructors for this module?
Information about the instructors for the five lessons under this module will be released two weeks before the start of the first lesson.
How will the module topics be presented?
The lessons of this module will be presented virtually by assigned instructors through live sessions.
What are the expected outcomes of this module?
You will learn:
- What defines capitalism and distinguishes it from other economic systems?
- What are tenets of mainstream economic views of capitalism?
- What are tents of heterodox economic views of capitalism?
- What is the role of state in mainstream and heterodox economic views?
- What are important current national and subnational macroeconomic issues and topics?
What are the requirements of this module?
Same as the requirements for the course.
Will I receive a completion Certificate?
If you register this module as a stand-alone module, you will receive a Certificate of completion after successful completion of the module.
Module 2: Design and Construction of National-Subnational Economic Models (1/2)
What is the overview of this module?
This is the first two modules that introduce learners to fundamentals of economic modelling and cover technical topics and practical issues related to the design and construction of macroeconomic models at national and subnational levels. The modules then use an existing multi-sector linked national-subnational macroeconomic model to explain how it is built and used to design policies and simulate their impacts.
Topics include:
(a) the purpose and the structure of the model;
(b) the extent and role of data in the construction and regular updating of the model;
(c) role of economic and statistical analyses in the specification and estimation of the model;
(d) the model’s building blocks;
(e) designing subnational policy scenarios with the model; and
(f) simulation and interpretation of results.
Who are the instructors for this module?
Information about the instructors for the five lessons under this module will be released two weeks before the start of the first lesson.
How will the module topics be presented?
The lessons of this module will be presented virtually by assigned instructors through live sessions.
What are the requirements of this module?
Same as the requirements for the course.
Will I receive a completion Certificate?
This module is an integral part of the course. It builds on the first module. You will receive a Certificate for the completion of the entire course.
Is this module also a stand-alone module?
No, this module is not an stand-alone module. It is an integral part of the Course. Only learners that have completed Modules 1 allowed to continue with this module.
Module 3: Design and Construction of National-Subnational Economic Models (2/2)
What is the overview of this module?
This is the second of two modules that introduce learners to fundamentals of economic modelling and cover technical topics and practical issues related to the design and construction of macroeconomic models at national and subnational levels. The modules then use an existing multi-sector linked national-subnational macroeconomic model to explain how it is built and used to design policies and simulate their impacts.
Topics include:
(a) the purpose and the structure of the model;
(b) the extent and role of data in the construction and regular updating of the model;
(c) role of economic and statistical analyses in the specification and estimation of the model;
(d) the model’s building blocks;
(e) designing subnational policy scenarios with the model; and
(f) simulation and interpretation of results.
Who are the instructors for this module?
Information about the instructors for the five lessons under this module will be released two weeks before the start of the first lesson.
How will the module topics be presented?
The lessons of this module will be presented virtually by assigned instructors through live sessions.
What are the requirements of this module?
Same as the course requirements.
Will I receive a completion Certificate?
This module is an integral part of the course. It builds on the first two modules.
Is this module also a stand-alone module?
No, this module is not an stand-alone module. It is an integral part of the Course. Only learners that have completed Modules 1 and 2 are allowed to continue with this module.
Module 4: Hands-on Practice (1/2)
What is the overview of this module?
Through hands-on practical exercises, this is the first of two modules that will provide training on how to use linked national-subnational macroeconomic models for planning and policy analyses. Learners will practice with the web-based linked national-provincial-district-municipal macroeconomic models of South Africa. They will use the models to practice designing and simulating a wide range of national and regional policies, including fiscal, monetary, industry, trade, and public investment policies. Through practical exercises, the modules will build the skills of learners on how to design complex, multi-layered national-subnational macroeconomic and industry policy scenarios, simulate their likely future impacts, and analyse the model results. The modules heavily utilise students’ learning from the earlier modules of the course.
Who are the instructors for this module?
Information about the instructors for the five lessons under this module will be released two weeks before the start of the first lesson.
How will the module topics be presented?
The lessons of this module will be presented virtually by assigned instructors through live sessions.
What are the requirements of this module?
Same as the requirements for the course.
Will I receive a completion Certificate?
This module is an integral part of the course. It builds on the earlier modules.
Is this module also a stand-alone module?
No, this module is not an stand-alone module. It is an integral part of the Course. Only learners that have completed earlier modules are allowed to continue with this module.
Module 5: Hands-on Practice (2/2)
What is the overview of this module?
Through hands-on practical exercises, this is the second of two modules that will provide training on how to use linked national-subnational macroeconomic models for planning and policy analyses. Learners will practice with the web-based linked national-provincial-district-municipal macroeconomic models of South Africa. They will use the models to practice designing and simulating a wide range of national and regional policies, including fiscal, monetary, industry, trade, and public investment policies. Through practical exercises, the modules will build the skills of learners on how to design complex, multi-layered national-subnational macroeconomic and industry policy scenarios, simulate their likely future impacts, and analyse the model results. The modules heavily utilise students’ learning from the earlier modules of the course.
Who are the instructors for this module?
Information about the instructors for the five lessons under this module will be released two weeks before the start of the first lesson.
How will the module topics be presented?
The lessons of this module will be presented virtually by assigned instructors through live sessions.
What are the requirements of this module?
Same as the requirements for the course.
Will I receive a completion Certificate?
This module is an integral part of the course. It builds on the earlier modules.
Is this module also a stand-alone module?
No, this module is not an stand-alone module. It is an integral part of the Course. Only learners that have completed earlier modules are allowed to continue with this module.
Module 6: Managing Policy Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation
What is the overview of this module?
This module examines how model based policy scenarios can inform and help the design, implementation, and fine-tuning of medium and long term subnational growth and development strategy and policy. It examines how model scenarios and forecasts can help develop consensus on possible future paths of subnational economic indicators and to regularly monitor the actual evolution of the economic indicators against their expected paths.
Who are the instructors for this module?
Information about the instructors for the five lessons under this module will be released two weeks before the start of the first lesson.
How will the module topics be presented?
The lessons of this module will be presented virtually by assigned instructors through live sessions.
What are the requirements of this module?
Same as the requirements for the course.
Will I receive a completion Certificate?
This module is an integral part of the course. It builds on the earlier modules.
Is this module also a stand-alone module?
No, this module is not an stand-alone module. It is an integral part of the Course. Only learners that have completed earlier modules are allowed to continue with this module.
Features
Type & Level
- This course is offered at a level 7 on the NQF and participants are expected to perform at this level.
- It is a non-credit bearing distance learning executive course (Short Learning Programme, SLP).
Teaching Method
- Instructor-led contact lectures that are discussion-focused and cognitively stimulating.
- Provision of the latest theoretical and practical scholarly learning material.
Guidelines
- Attendance at lectures is compulsory.
- Individual assignments may be set during the programme and these must be completed and submitted to the course convener by the date specified. All assignments must show the student(s) number and name (or Learning Group name), title of the assignment and the lecturer’s name.
- Students who cannot complete a module due to work commitments or illness will be permitted to complete the course when it is offered again.
- Students will be asked to complete an assessment of lecturers and the programme. This assessment is intended to assist the programme convener in maintaining and improving the programme’s quality and all constructive comments and suggestions will be welcomed. All students are required to complete and submit the evaluation form.
Logistics
Assessment Criteria
Learners will be deemed competent when/if they can:
- Identify major debates in macroeconomic theory and policy;
- Able to compare and contrast the tenets of main schools of thoughts in economics
- Identify important economic linkages and interactions within the macro-economy
- Discuss how these linkages and interactions affect economic performance
- Explain why economists build linked nation-subnational economic models
- Explain the major steps of building a national-subnational macroeconomic model
- Explain differences between main macroeconomic modelling techniques
- Explain and interpret macroeconomic results of a national-subnational model
- Use a linked national-subnational macroeconomic model for various policy demands
- Analyze model results at national and regional levels in terms of the impact and effectiveness of policy scenarios
- Use a model to forecast economic trajectories and policy responses at national and regional levels
Assessment Method
- The course will be assessed at NQF Level 7.
- The assessment of participants’ performance will be undertaken at the end of module three and module six of the certificate.
- Levels of learning will be measured through assignments, presentations, and case study work to assess application of conceptual and practical aspects of the material.
- Assignments and exams must be handed at the time and date specified.
- For every week an assignment is late, 5% will be deducted. If submitted one month after the due date, 20% will be deducted from the assignment mark. Assignments will not be accepted, if submitted later than one month after the due date.
- Any person suspected of copying or plagiarising will be handed back their assignment unmarked. Students are warned that they will be penalised, at the discretion of the facilitator(s), if they copy.
Dates
The six modules of this course will be taught intermittently between July 2023 and January 2024 as follow:
- Module 1: 10-14 July, 2023
- Module 2: 14-18 August, 2023
- Module 3: 11-15 September, 2023
- Module 4: 9-13 October, 2023
- Module 5: 13-17 November, 2023
- Module 6: 15-19 January, 2024
Certificate
- Once course is successfully completed you may log into your account, view certificate, and select add to LinkedIn. Potential employers and associates will be able to view your certificate. EMA will also endorse your economic modelling skill once you add it into your LinkedIn account.
- There is no additional fee related to your certificate.
- You must complete all classes and assignments to be able to obtain a certificate.
Support
Coordinator
Course coordinator: Dr. Asghar Adelzadeh
The course coordinator is available to respond to questions related to the course content and structure. Go to Contact Us page to submit your inquiry.
Alumni Support
Graduates will receive limited support for their job search and placement.
Cost
Cost
Learners can enroll either in the full course (Modules 1 to 6) or in only module 1, which provides a review of concepts and topics. Only Module 1 is offered both as a stand-alone module and as part of the full course. The total cost for each of the above two options is provided below:
1. Full Course Cost (Modules 1 to 6)
- Tuition R78 500
- Fees* R16 500
- Total Cost R95 000
2. Module 1 Cost
- Tuition R14 000
- Fees* R0
- Total Cost R14 000
* Fees relate to the discounted cost of accessing web-based models during the course and for three months after the course.
Discounts
Enterprises that register a group of their employees for this course will receive total cost discounts based on their group sizes.
EMA Enterprise Discount Program:
- 10% for Group Size 2 to 10
- 15% for Group Size 11 to 20
- 20% for Group Size 21 to 30
- 25% for Group Size Greater Than 30
Scholarships
Course Registration & Payment
This course is offered through EMA-GIBS partnership.
Registration and payment for the course is processes by GIBS.
Info brochure
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