Background
The invitation reads:
"More and more South Africans feel that they are being left behind. Unemployment and inequality are increasing and for many, economic empowerment has not been working in the way it was envisioned in 1994. Some economists see in the current economic crisis, therefore, an opportunity to discuss a new economic model – focused on the practical role the market and the State can play in creating an inclusive, fair, democratic and productive economy.
The “Social Market Economy“ – an economic system based on a free market operating in conjunction with social policies that establish both fair competition and a welfare state – is often regarded as a key factor behind Germany’s remarkable economic resurgence after the Second World War. But can this approach be adapted to the South African context? And could it help to reach the kind of social compact many politicians are calling for?"
Speakers:
- Professor Dr Markus Beckmann, Chair of Corporate Sustainability Management
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
- Mr Trevor Manuel, South Africa’s Finance Minister from 1996 to 2009
Event Details
Date: 20 August 2020
Time: 10.00 – 11.30
You can view the invitation here:
https://www.cplo.org.za/online-discussion-the-social-market-economy-a-model-for-south-africa/
Please register here.
You will receive an invitation to join the conference call via Zoom.
Speaker Information
Trevor Manuel, Former Finance Minister
Trevor Manuel served as a Cabinet Minister from 1994 to 2014. He was first appointed to Cabinet as Minister of Trade and Industry in May 1994, a portfolio he held for two years. In April 1996, he became Finance Minister, steering the South African economy for 13 years as one of the world’s longest serving finance ministers. During his last term in office, he served as Minister in the Presidency responsible for the National Planning Commission, a position he held from May 2009 to May 2014. During his two decades as a Cabinet Minister he also served as an ANC Member of Parliament.
His ministerial career highlights tracked two decades of major social and economic development in the South African economy. Domestically, he introduced extensive support measures for small, medium and micro-enterprises to boost local economic development and grow business enterprise. As Minister of Finance he stabilised the macro-economy, returning the economy to growth, significantly transformed the fiscal system in respect of taxation and public spending, reduced South Africa’s fiscal deficit and debt, and introduced an intergovernmental system to efficiently manage expenditure across the three spheres of government.
As Chairperson of the National Planning Commission, he oversaw the drafting of the broadly- accepted and first National Development Plan for the country.
Mr Manuel is Chairperson of Old Mutual Limited. He is a Senior Advisor to and the Deputy Chairperson of Rothschild South Africa. He also serves as a Trustee on the Allan Gray Orbis Endowment Trust. He serves on the Advisory Board of the Centre for African Cities at UCT.
Prof. Markus Beckmann
Markus Beckmann studied International Cultural and Business Studies at the University of Passau, Universidad de Málaga, Spain, and the University of Washington, Seattle, USA. Thereafter he worked at the Wittenberg Center for Global Ethics from 2003 to 2005, before completing his doctoral degree in business ethics at Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg in 2009. From 2009 to 2012, he researched and taught as an assistant professor of social entrepreneurship at the Centre for Sustainability Management at Leuphana University of Lüneburg, where he was also founder and head of the Social Change Hub (SCHub), a platform that promotes social entrepreneurship among students. Professor Beckmann has been Chair of Corporate Sustainability Management at Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) since November 2012.
His research focuses on sustainability management and social entrepreneurship, as well as business ethics and corporate social responsibility.