Studies in Financial Markets and Macroeconomics (SFM) is a School of Economic and Business Sciences (SEBS) based research unit. It is designed to provide research of impact on financial markets and macroeconomic issues that particularly concern South Africa, other African countries and Emerging Market economies. Key issues of focus include efficiency of financial markets and institutions, growth enhancing financial markets architecture, effective financing arrangement for firms (particularly small to medium enterprises – SMEs), appropriate monetary policies for open-small economies, modeling of output growth for economies characterized by persistent or high unemployment, income distribution imbalance, structural macroeconomic imbalances, and the effects of changes in international production patterns on emerging market economies.
These research objectives are pursued via 1) writing and posting working papers (research-in-progress) and Op-Ed pieces on the web, 2) organizing focused research topic analyses by external and internal associates of SFM, 3) mobilizing government units and businesses on pertinent issues via occasional workshops or training, and 4) compilation and periodic / occasional publication of provincial, country- or market-wide reports. These research outputs seek to foster improved policy effectiveness and design, and to enhance best business application and practice.
Other important end products of SFM’s activities are the training of postgraduate students as effective researchers in macroeconomics and capital markets, increasing the scholarship output of SEBS’ staff members, facilitating collaboration and exchange between researchers across institutions and countries, and increasing the awareness of relevant research findings among practitioners and policy makers.