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The document analyzes the demographic transition of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, noting that all are facing population ageing while still in a middle-income economic phase. It highlights the risks of economic stagnation, fiscal pressure on pensions and healthcare, and the political challenges of raising retirement ages. The author recommends that BRICS members leverage their collective resources to invest in human capital, assistive technologies, and age-friendly urban planning, while sharing policy lessons to create a sustainable development precedent for other Global South countries.

The report argues that the IMF's economic surveillance of Colombia and Indonesia reveals significant 'blind spots' regarding the green transition. It finds that the IMF prioritizes austerity and market-based pricing mechanisms over green industrial policies and fails to adequately quantify long-term climate risks or the financing needs for adaptation and mitigation. The authors call for a systematic integration of climate issues into policy recommendations, better sequencing of fiscal advice, and wider engagement with civil society.

The Institute for Economic Justice criticizes the South African National Treasury for presenting expenditure cuts as the only solution to a 'fiscal cliff'. The author argues that austerity leads to the collapse of critical services, increased poverty, and long-term GDP decline. Proposed alternatives include removing tax breaks for high earners, returning the corporate income tax rate to 28%, and lowering borrowing costs through state-mandated lending and capital controls.

The document argues that South Africa is not in an acute fiscal crisis, as current revenue shortfalls and expenditure overruns are within historical norms. It criticizes the National Treasury's commitment to austerity and poor planning, particularly regarding the public sector wage bill. The authors suggest that the real issue is a 'growth crisis' rather than a debt crisis, noting that the debt-to-GDP ratio is comparable to other emerging markets. To resolve budget gaps, the brief recommends utilizing the SARB's Gold and Foreign Exchange Contingency Reserve Account, increasing borrowing, restoring the corporate income tax rate to 28%, and introducing wealth taxes, while cautioning against VAT increases.

The document argues that South Africa's current budget mismatch is within historical norms and does not constitute an acute fiscal crisis. It identifies a projected revenue shortfall of R67.2 billion and an expenditure overspend of R67.9 billion, attributing the latter largely to poor planning by the National Treasury. While the debt-to-GDP ratio (71.4% in 2022/23) is comparable to emerging market averages, the authors warn that the rising cost of debt and lack of economic growth create a medium-term sustainability risk. To resolve the mismatch without cutting public services, the brief recommends utilizing the R459 billion in the SARB's Gold and Foreign Exchange Contingency Reserve Account, restoring the corporate income tax rate to 28%, removing tax breaks for high-income earners, and implementing a progressive wealth tax.

The document outlines a study on sovereign debt management during the COVID-19 crisis, highlighting the severe economic impact on developing countries and the specific vulnerabilities of Sub-Saharan African nations. It notes that the pandemic induced major debt stresses and operational challenges, leading countries to implement fiscal, monetary, and financial policies to cushion local markets. The full study is divided into four thematic areas: macroeconomic policy interventions, external financing operations, local currency bond markets, and governance and operational risk management frameworks.

The report argues that existing social contracts are broken, exclusionary, and ignore planetary boundaries, necessitating a transition to 'eco-social contracts'. These new frameworks are proposed to be grounded in human rights, gender justice, and a 'contract with nature'. The document explores various pathways for implementation, including rights-based economies, the recognition of the rights of nature, and the inclusion of marginalized groups such as informal workers and Indigenous peoples. It provides specific regional analyses and case studies from Nepal, the MENA region, India, and Australia to illustrate how participatory processes and communitarian imaginaries (such as Ubuntu and Sumak kawsay) can inform these new societal agreements.

The report outlines a framework for developing countries to bridge the adaptation finance gap through seven guiding principles. These are divided into process-related principles—emphasizing country-driven approaches, the engagement of finance ministries, and inclusivity—and content-related principles, which focus on the strategic use of diverse financial instruments, alignment with national development goals, improving the enabling environment, and establishing monitoring and evaluation processes. The report supports these principles with case studies from Kenya, Nepal, and Peru, highlighting that a financing strategy is a continuous process rather than a single document.

The report examines the current state of mining taxation and proposes ten innovative policy ideas to increase government revenue. It highlights the shift toward critical minerals for the energy transition and the risks posed by automation and profit shifting. The proposed ideas include minimum profit sharing, production sharing contracts, state equity, state-owned enterprises, variable royalties, the 'Sixth Method' for transfer pricing, carbon pricing, development taxes for communities, competitive bidding for licenses, and remote monitoring for quarries. It also provides a framework for evaluating these reforms and discusses the legal challenges associated with fiscal stabilization clauses and international investment treaties.

Algeria's economy is characterized by a heavy reliance on oil and gas, which account for nearly 30% of GDP and over 85% of exports. This dependence, combined with a closed, state-controlled economic model and a large informal sector—estimated to involve 57% of the population—has led to stagnating per capita income and vulnerability to global energy transitions. While the government has introduced a new hydrocarbon law to attract investment and shifted focus toward shale gas, the report argues that true growth requires restructuring the economy to protect non-hydrocarbon sectors and integrating the informal economy into the formal sector.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) criticises the 2023 National Budget as 'anti-poor' due to its focus on fiscal consolidation and debt stabilisation over public service provision. The IEJ recommends a new macroeconomic framework targeting unemployment and inequality, unconditional debt relief for Eskom including 'haircuts' for private debt holders, and the implementation of progressive taxation measures such as a wealth tax and returning the corporate income tax rate to 28%.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) critiques the 2023 South African Budget, asserting that it prioritizes debt stabilization and austerity over essential public services and social protection. The IEJ highlights significant real-term funding shortfalls in healthcare, education, and social grants, and warns that conditions on Eskom's debt relief facilitate privatization and exacerbate energy poverty. The document calls for a shift toward a developmental macroeconomic framework, progressive taxation—including a wealth tax and returning the corporate tax rate to 28%—and the implementation of a permanent basic income support system to address systemic inequality and poverty.

The document argues that current debt management frameworks used by the IMF and World Bank are insufficient and often counterproductive, contributing to a 'New Debt Crisis' in Africa. It highlights that Africa's total debt reached US$1.13 trillion by 2024, with a shift toward costlier non-concessional loans from private creditors and China. The analysis finds that tools like the Debt Sustainability Framework (DSF) rely on faulty premises, ignoring national assets and human rights obligations while promoting austerity. The brief concludes with recommendations for a UN-led debt workout mechanism, improved transparency, and the establishment of an African Financial Stability Mechanism.

The document argues that a Universal Basic Income Guarantee (UBIG) for South Africans aged 18 to 59 is fiscally viable and would stimulate economic growth while reducing poverty. Based on research with Applied Development Research Solutions (ADRS), it proposes three implementation pathways (low, medium, and high speed) from 2023 to 2030. The analysis suggests that UBIG would increase GDP growth to between 2.8% and 3.5% by 2030 and reduce poverty by 67% over the next two decades. Financing options include a wealth tax on the top 1% of the population, a Social Security Tax (SST), and VAT returns, as low-income recipients tend to spend their grants on VAT-rated basic goods, returning approximately 12% to the government.

The author contends that the EU's adherence to strict debt-to-GDP ratios and austerity has undermined public services, lowered living standards, and hindered the energy transition. The text calls for a shift away from the 'fiscal straitjacket' of the Maastricht criteria toward a framework that empowers national governments and the European Commission to invest in carbon emission reductions and social infrastructure.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) criticises the South African National Treasury's 2022 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) for maintaining a path of austerity and fiscal consolidation since 2012. The IEJ asserts that prioritising debt stabilisation over developmental goals leads to declining expenditure per learner in basic education and real-term cuts in healthcare spending. The document also highlights the failure to adjust the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant for inflation and the exclusion of 3.5 million people from the grant due to stringent criteria. While noting positive infrastructure investment and Eskom debt absorption, the IEJ warns that Eskom's unbundling and private sector participation may lead to higher tariffs. The IEJ advocates for progressive taxation to fund public services and reduce income inequality.

The document argues that a UBIG in South Africa is fiscally feasible through progressive taxation and economic stimulus effects. It estimates the gross annual cost of a grant set at the Food Poverty Line (R624/month) at R255 billion, though actual costs would be lower based on uptake rates (R153 billion at 60% and R204 billion at 80%). The net cost is further reduced by a 'multiplier effect' and VAT recoupment, with the document suggesting that the net cost could be as low as 50% of the gross cost. Proposed funding sources include a social security tax, a wealth tax on the top 1% (potentially raising R143 billion), luxury VAT, and the reduction of retirement fund subsidies.

The IEJ criticizes South Africa's current fiscal strategy of austerity and debt stabilisation, arguing it has led to a 'lost decade' of low investment and increased inequality. The document details real-term budget cuts in basic education and healthcare, and the lack of a permanent replacement for the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant. To reverse these trends, the IEJ proposes a pro-macroeconomic framework using counter-cyclical spending and a progressive tax regime—including a wealth tax, a resource rent tax, and the reversal of corporate income tax cuts—to fund public services and a Universal Basic Income Guarantee.

The Institute for Economic Justice calls for a radical shift in South Africa's 2022 MTBPS, advocating for the expansion of the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant to at least R624 and the eventual introduction of a Universal Basic Income Guarantee. The authors argue against budget cuts in education and healthcare, suggesting instead that the government utilize an estimated R110-billion revenue overrun and implement a wealth tax and luxury VAT to fund social support and infrastructure. Additionally, the document recommends reversing the corporate tax rate cut from 28% to 27% and increasing support for the Industrial Financing Programme to combat deindustrialisation.

The document critiques the administrative barriers and restrictive eligibility of the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, arguing that a Universal Basic Income Guarantee (UBIG) would more effectively reduce poverty and strengthen household resilience. It advocates for financing this system through wealth taxes and progressive reforms rather than regressive taxation like VAT increases.