NIEP is the successor to the Macroeconomic Research Group (MERG) which was set up to formulate post-apartheid economic policies and to contribute to developing and implementing a national industrial strategy. As such, NIEP participated in the writing of the Reconstruction and Development Programme. NIEP’s goal is to serve as a pre-eminent independent South African economic policy and research institutions servicing the democratic movement.
NIEP’s activities are divided into two main areas: research, and training and capacity building.
Research is concentrated in seven core areas:
- Macro, Provincial and Sectoral Modelling
- Macro and sectoral Growth and Investment
- Monetary and Financial Market
- Public Finance
- Labour Market
- Trade and Industrial Development
- Regional and Urban Development
It is engaged in building capacity in economic education,analysis and policy-making among historically disadvantaged universities, policy-makers in government departments and Parliament and stakeholder constituencies.
NIEP produces a wide range of pulications: Occasional Paper Series, Quarterlies (including “NGQO!”, recent issues of which are available on-line), Books and Newspaper Articles.