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Dr. Cynthia Lum Fonta (centre) pictured with her supervisors Professor David Gordon (left) and Dr. Zoi Toumpakari (right).

Tracing Inequality: A PhD Journey into Child Poverty, Education, and Development in Africa

In this article SALDRU–IIASA postdoc Cynthia Lum Fonta reflects on her path from working in clinics to being a PhD student looking at disparities in child poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.

The 2026 Budget: Is this the turning point?

In this commentary on the Budget, SALDRU Associate Andrew Donaldson reflects on the extent to which the current moment truly reflects a turning point – in terms of debt and financial projections, growth, and the performance of government

Image: Participants of the training session on a social walk in Kirstenbosch.

Professor Wolfgang Lutz visits SALDRU for Human Capital for Sustainable Development in Africa training

As part of the Human Capital for Sustainable Development in Africa and Coastal Regions project, Professor Wolfgang Lutz spent three weeks at SALDRU engaging with the locally-based team.

Attendees in the venue where presentations were held at the December Workshop.

SALDRU and ERSA co-host the second edition of the annual December Workshop

The workshop aims to provide a South African venue where overseas-based and local researchers can present and engage with frontier Economics research under the theme of “Frontiers in Applied Economics for Developing Countries”.

Challenging inequalities through policy-relevant academic research.

Image: Attendees at the SALDRU at 50 event. Credit: SALDRU.

SALDRU celebrates 50 years since its founding in 1975

An event was held at UCT to celebrate 50 years since the founding of the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit on the 10th of December. About 100 people gathered to mark this milestone and hear about SALDRU's history.

Attendees of Murray’s retirement lunch at UCT.

Former SALDRU Director Murray Leibbrandt formally retires from UCT

SALDRU hosted a lunch to mark Murray Leibbrandt’s formal retirement from UCT. This article by Charmaine Smith draws together the multitude of tributes Murray has received.

Representatives of partner organisations including Laura Hemrika and Nathalie Jean-Baptiste (both from the Julius Baer Foundation) and Ariane De Lannoy (from SALDRU)

Ariane De Lannoy and Vimal Ranchhod participate in the international Future of Social Mobility conference in Chile

In the first week of December, SALDRU’s Deputy Director, Associate Prof. Ariane De Lannoy, and SALDRU’s Director, Prof. Vimal Ranchhod, participated in the international Future of Social Mobility conference in Santiago, Chile.

Siyaphambili interactive website

An interactive website to track and monitor qualification attainment and related information in South Africa

OpenSALDRU

The SALDRU repository contains publications from research conducted within the research unit. Select a collection to browse its contents.

SALDRU launches interactive online platform The Community Explorer

Effective community-level development requires granular insights into well-being disparities. The Community Explorer is an interactive online platform designed to map, analyse, and visualise community-level well-being data in South Africa