Over 75 economists say government can do more to mitigate the economic harm of COVID-19

An open letter from over 75 economists and analysts to President Cyril Ramaphosa and the South African Cabinet arguing that government economic interventions to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 are insufficient in scale and speed compared to global responses.

• The authors argue that South Africa's economic response to COVID-19 does not match the scale of the challenge, noting that the United Kingdom, France, and the United States injected 18.9%, 13.6%, and 10.7% of their GDP into their economies, respectively.
• South Africa's GDP is estimated to potentially contract by between 1.8% and 7%, which the authors state will have devastating effects on livelihoods and jobs.
• The document identifies specific vulnerable groups likely to suffer most from the crisis, including the self-employed, informal workers, atypically employed individuals, and small businesses, with the hardest impact expected on black people, particularly black women and children.
• To support households and communities, the economists propose income transfers via a special COVID-19 grant, top-ups to existing grants, or a universal basic income grant, alongside compulsory payment holidays for rent, mortgages, and municipal taxes.
• Proposed worker protections include guaranteeing monthly wages for the full lockdown duration, extending unemployment benefits to casual and informal workers, and ensuring workers are not forced to use annual leave during furlough.
• The authors suggest sustaining businesses through expanded access to low-rate emergency loans via the South African Reserve Bank, arguing that the voluntary 'solidarity fund' is insufficient and may have diverted donors from other vital charities.
• Public health recommendations include increasing resources for testing and treatment, pooling resources between private and public providers, scaling up local production of health equipment, and providing free mobile data to curb fake news.
• Economic strengthening proposals include monetary policy to manage the exchange rate and prevent capital flight, a 'helicopter drop' of R1000 per individual for four months, and a review of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework to avoid budget cuts in healthcare and wages.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (n.d.). Over 75 economists say government can do more to mitigate the economic harm of COVID-19. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/PDF-Download-Open-economist-letter-COVID-19-Final.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. Over 75 economists say government can do more to mitigate the economic harm of COVID-19. n.d. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/PDF-Download-Open-economist-letter-COVID-19-Final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=Over 75 economists say government can do more to mitigate the economic harm of COVID-19 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/PDF-Download-Open-economist-letter-COVID-19-Final.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{instituteforeconomicjusticendover, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{Over 75 economists say government can do more to mitigate the economic harm of COVID-19}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/PDF-Download-Open-economist-letter-COVID-19-Final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }