Table of Contents

Preface; Acknowledgements; List of Contributors; List of Abbreviations; Introduction: Unpacking the Great Recession and its Implications- Vusi Gumede; Setting the Scene: Framing the Debate on the Great Recession - Joel Netshitenzhe, Vusi Gumede and Samuel Oloruntoba; The Great Recession: Origins, Implications and Responses - Thabo Mbeki; The Global Economic Crisis and Africa's Economic Performance - Akpan Ekpo Features of Financial Markets and Global Trade Relations: Implicationsfor Civilians Across the Globe - Iraj Abedian; The Link and Impact of Financial Innovation on Economic Growth in Africa- Charlotte du Toit; The Global Economic Recession and the Roles of the State in Bailouts: Implications for the Future of Development in Africa - Samuel Oloruntoba; African Economies Post the Global Financial Crisis: Potential and Prospect - Lumkile Mondi; Horizontal Economy: How Africa Can Build a Thriving Economy in the Twenty-first Century - Lorenzo Fioramonti; The 'Africa Rising' Narrative in the Context of the Global Economic and Ecological Crisis - Devan Pillay; Africans Continue Uprising Against 'Africa Rising' - Patrick Bond; Politics of Numbers: Deconstructing Statistics in the African Growth Narrative - Pali Lehohla; Postscript: In Lieu of a Conclusion - Joel Netshitenzhe, Vusi Gumede and Samuel Oloruntoba.

About the Author

Iraj Abedian is Founder and Chief Executive of Pan-African Investment and Research Services (Pty) Ltd. He was formerly Professor of Economics at the University of Cape Town. Patrick Bond is Professor at the Wits School of Governance and Honorary Professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal Centre for Civil Society. Charlotte du Toit is CEO of Plus Economics Advisory (an economic and econometric modelling firm). Formerly Professor of Economics at the University of Pretoria. Akpan Ekpo is Professor of Economics and Director-General of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management. Lorenzo Fioramonti is Professor at the University of Pretoria and Director of the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation. The Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA), which was publicly launched as a think tank in March 2011, was founded by a group of South Africans with experience in research, academia, policy-making and governance, who saw the need to create a platform for engagement around strategic issues facing South Africa. The Institute combines research and academic development, strategic reflections and intellectual discourse and applies itself to issues such as economics, sociology, governance, history, arts and culture, and the logics of the natural sciences. Vusi Gumede is Professor at the University of South Africa (Unisa); Director of the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute (TMALI); former Chief Policy Analyst in the Presidency; former Special Advisor to the Minister of Public Enterprises; former Advisor in the Ministry of Trade and Industry; former Associate Professor at the University of Johannesburg and currently a MISTRA fellow. Pali Lehohla is Statistician-General at Statistics South Africa. Thabo Mbeki was President of Democratic South Africa (1999-2008) having been the First Executive Deputy President (1994-1999). Since leaving government, he has been involved with many peace-building initiatives in Africa and various projects of the United Nations and the African Union Commission. He is Patron of the Thabo Mbeki Foundation and the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute. Lumkile Mondi is Senior Lecturer at the School of Economic and Business Science, University of the Witwatersrand. Joel Netshitenzhe is Executive Director of the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA) and former Head of Government Communications and the Policy Unit in the South African Presidency and currently a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress. Samuel Oloruntoba is Senior Lecturer at the Thabo Mbeki Leadership Institute, University of South Africa. Devan Pillay is Head of the Department of Sociology, University of the Witwatersrand. Previously, he worked in government, the trade union movement and the alternative media.