Johan Fourie

Reposted by: Johan Fourie

Hillary Vipond

@hillaryvipond.bsky.social

Have come to terms with the fact that I don't really understand or remember much until I write it out & work through it.

So I'm going to blog. Primarily for myself. Would love it to be a little useful for others. Many thanks to @johanfourieza.bsky.social, whose conference on this was inspiring

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Happy tenth birthday, LEAP!

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

My research unit at Stellenbosch is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. In today's post, I reflected, using two new studies, on the progress we've made in promoting the study of African economic history.

Two new research papers show how economic history at Stellenbosch punches above its weight

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Reflections on South Africa winning the World Test Championship at Lord's

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

The ICC Test Championship final was a game for the ages. Sometimes, by simply turning up again and again, the impossible becomes possible.

It's not just cricket

Reposted by: Johan Fourie

CEPH

@cephie.bsky.social

@johanfourieza.bsky.social closes out our second session as he explores new incentives for enslaved runaways in South Africa in the 1830s.

#econsky #econhistory

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The winner of the Our Long Walk Essay Competition revealed!

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

Full essay (and my thoughts on the competiton), here: www.ourlongwalk.com/p/and-the-pr...

And the prize goes to...

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

And we have a winner of the inaugural Our Long Walk Essay Competition!

It was this graph that got me hooked on the winning essay...

Blueprint for a new university

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

If I had to build a new university, this is what it would look like:

Will anyone invest in my start-up idea?

Opinion | I’m an Afrikaner. Trump’s resettled South Africans don’t represent me.

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

One Washington Post reader thinks my blog is worth reading!

South Africa is much more complicated than Americans of both political parties think.

www.washingtonpost.com

What should we do about it?

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

@tylercowen.bsky.social says university students know, on average, more about LLMs than do their professors.

I agree, but it will take a monumental effort for slow university systems to adapt to the AI revolution.

Here I propose three steps to start:

AI ate my homework

Everything is social impact

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

Adam Smith’s division of labour applies as much to universities as it does to factories.

My first of a three-part series on the future of the university ($).

But should it be?

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

Fantastic news!

Hillary Vipond @hillaryvipond.bsky.social · May 19

Have come to terms with the fact that I don't really understand or remember much until I write it out & work through it.

So I'm going to blog. Primarily for myself. Would love it to be a little useful for others. Many thanks to @johanfourieza.bsky.social, whose conference on this was inspiring

Kate Mosse, Pierre Joubert and their long walk to Franschhoek

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

@katemossewriter.bsky.social Kate Mosse's Joubert Family Chronicles conclude in Franschhoek, where she'll be speaking next weekend.

In this post, I traced the real life outcomes of some her historical characters in the eighteenth-century Cape Colony:

The Huguenot refugee

Reposted by: Johan Fourie

Hillary Vipond

@hillaryvipond.bsky.social

Really delighted to have arrived in Stellenbosch for this workshop on disseminating Economic History. Organized by @johanfourieza.bsky.social with keynote from @delong.social

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What South Africa’s experience with state capture reveals – and does not reveal – about America today

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

What do Jacob Zuma and Donald Trump have in common? This essay maps two different threats to modern states – one captured, one feudal – and why the distinction matters.

Feudal America

The Our Long Walk Essay Competition

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

Reminder: today is the submission deadline for the Our Long Walk Essay Competition!

Write what you like

An AI-written short story to commemorate Freedom Day

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

To celebrate 31 years of political freedom in South Africa, I curated a ChatGPT-written short story:

The elephant

My submission on South Africa's Draft Transformation Fund Concept Document

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

If we as South Africans are serious about racial transformation, let’s not waste another decade. Let’s invest in understanding exactly what enables (black) entrepreneurial success.

To test transformation

How a 19th-century Cape coffee boom reveals the hidden consequences of Trump’s new tariff war

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

How can a 19th-century Cape Colony coffee boom help to explain the hidden consequences of Trump’s new tariff war?

Déjà brew

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Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

Economic History of Developing Regions needs a new editor!

The Trump tariffs and how South Africa should respond to it

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

Eight months ago, South Africa’s trade delegation returned from Washington with smiles and soundbites. This week, the mood changed.

In my latest post, I examine the economic justification for these tariffs, what they reveal about US politics, and how South Africa should respond.

An autumn of autarky

Why, where and how to do a PhD in Economics

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

If you're a (South) African student, what do you need to know about doing an Economics PhD in the US or Europe? My advice.

(To the economists on BlueSky based in the US or Europe, please add ideas or suggestions in the comments on the blog! Your inputs are much appreciated.)

PhD talk

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How AI will make South Africa's science funding model obsolete

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

Will AI lead to a proliferation of superficial publications that all compete in a race to the bottom and, most importantly, do little to advance knowledge or contribute to building a better society?

Science, outsourced

The Our Long Walk Essay Competition

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

And just like that, the first essay submission just arrived in my mailbox, a week after announcing the Our Long Walk Essay Competition!

If you know any African students 25 years or younger who is interested in the past, present and future of this wonderful continent, then please forward them this:

Write what you like

Can herding shape our morals?

by Johan Fourie — Reposted by: Johan Fourie

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

How should economists think about culture?

In episode 7 of the Our Long Walk podcast, Jonathan and I interview @nathannunn.bsky.social about why culture matters, zero versus positive-sum thinking (in the US elections), and why economists should study Africa…

EPISODE 7: Jonathan and I speak to Nathan Nunn on why culture still matters, zero versus positive-sum thinking (in the US elections), and why economists should study Africa

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Africa and the new world order

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

When the rules are changing, will Africa rewrite them or let others decide its fate?

My take on Africa and the new world order:

When the rules are changing, will Africa rewrite them or let others decide its fate?

The Our Long Walk Essay Competition

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

The Our Long Walk Essay Competition just launched.

Any African 25 or younger can apply.

The prize money of $500 is not massive. But it is a start. (I'm funding it myself.) And you get your ideas published on the blog.

Theme: 'Progress and Innovation in Africa's Past'.

Please spread the message!

Write what you like

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Property rights are endogenous

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

How the Green Revolution shaped property rights – and what this means for South Africa's land reform process.

The land reform we need won’t come from government

There are no solutions; there are only trade-offs

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

VAT – despite its flaws – remains one of the least distortionary ways to raise revenue. For South Africa, the alternatives – cutting spending on education, healthcare or infrastructure, or taking on more debt – come with a high risk of being worse.

VAT up, doc?

EPISODE 8: Jonathan and I speak to Ola Olsson about the economics of prehistory, the environmental roots of state formation and what ancient Egypt can teach us about the ongoing crisis in the Congo...

by Johan Fourie — Reposted by: Ola Olsson

Johan Fourie

@johanfourieza.bsky.social

How far back should economic history go? Most textbooks start with agriculture, trade, and the emergence of states. But what if we looked further – beyond written records, beyond cities, beyond even the first farms?

A wonderful interview with Ola Olsson about the economics of prehistory!

Why did we stop roaming?