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

A group of over 75 economists and experts argue that South Africa's initial economic responses to COVID-19 were insufficient in scale compared to other nations. They propose a comprehensive five-pillar strategy to support households, protect workers, sustain businesses, strengthen public health, and stabilize the broader economy, emphasizing the need for fiscal and monetary expansion to protect the most vulnerable populations.

• The authors argue that South Africa's economic response to COVID-19 lacks the scale seen in other countries; for instance, the UK, France, and the US injected 18.9%, 13.6%, and 10.7% of their GDP respectively, while South African measures "do not match the scale of the challenge".
• South Africa's GDP was estimated to potentially contract by between 1.8% and 7%, which the authors state would have "devastating impacts on jobs and livelihoods".
• The document identifies specific vulnerable groups that will be hardest hit by the crisis, including the self-employed, atypically employed, informal workers, small businesses, and specifically "black people, and especially black women and children".
• To support households and communities, the authors recommend income transfers via a "special COVID-19 grant, a top-up to existing grants, and/or a universal basic income grant", as well as compulsory payment holidays for rent, mortgages, and municipal taxes.
• Worker protection recommendations 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.
• To sustain businesses, the authors suggest expanding access to low-rate emergency loans via the South African Reserve Bank, noting that the "solidarity fund" is insufficient and may have "diverted donors from other charities".
• Public health strengthening proposals include pooling resources between private and public providers for free testing and treatment, scaling up local production of health products, and providing free mobile data to curb "fake news".
• The authors call for monetary policy to manage the exchange rate and suggest a "helicopter drop" of funds, such as R1000 per individual for four months, alongside 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} }