Top Three Economists of 2024
Economist of the Year Competition: Unveiling the top three economists of 2024
The official announcement of the top three economists of the 2024 BMR/Unisa Economist of the Year Competition took place at an awards ceremony on 19 June 2025 in Pretoria. The top three economists of 2024 include two joint winners and one runner-up. The 2024 joint winners of this prestigious competition are as follows:
- Dr Johannes Jordaan who is the Chief Economist and Managing Director of Economic Modelling Solutions. He is also an associate econometrician at Econometrix Pty (Ltd). This is the third time that Dr Jordaan is a winner of this competition.
- Mr Ulrich Joubert who is an independent economist. He is a past chairman of the Johannesburg Afrikaanse Sakekamer as well as the Economic Advisory Committee of the Afrikaanse Handelsinstituut (AHI). This is the sixth time that Mr Joubert is a winner of this competition.
The runner-up of the 2024 competition is Mr Jee-A van der Linde who is a Senior economist at Oxford Economics Africa. Mr Van der Linde was also a runner-up in the 2023 BMR/Unisa Economist of the Year Competition.
The two winners and the runner-up succeeded in masterfully forecasting the eight economic variables of the competition with remarkable precision throughout the tumultuous year of 2024. This was achieved despite the overwhelming social, economic, business, and political uproar during the year, which collectively posed formidable challenges to crafting precise and reliable economic forecasts. Such challenges included persistent and crippling levels of loadshedding, very high public debt levels, the economic stigma and constraints of greylisting, political uncertainty, freight and logistics issues impacting trade and supply chains. These were compounded by governance issues such as corruption and systemic inefficiencies, global geopolitical conflicts, structural and infrastructural constraints, depressed levels of business and consumer confidence, social instability and the deterioration of crucial international relations with key trading allies.
Given all these challenges, it is no wonder that the economists who participated in the 2024 Economist of the Year Competition were fairly pessimistic about the performance of the South African economy throughout 2024. The initial consensus forecasts in February 2024 showed a median real economic growth rate of 1.0% , for which forecasts remained at that low level throughout the year. The same is true with respect to the median forecast for real household consumption expenditure growth in 2024, that remained at about 1.2% throughout the year. The actual figures indicate that the South African economy recorded a real economic growth rate of 0.6% and real household consumption expenditure of 1.0% in 2024. Despite all the challenges to producing accurate economic forecasts, forecasts of greatest likelihood remain indispensable to government institutions, businesses, investors, and the broader public. Drawing on artificial intelligence insights, the most effective forecasters are characterised by traits such as data realism, intellectual curiosity, open-mindedness, mathematical rigour, and a commitment to lifelong learning. The economists who participated in the 2024 BMR/Unisa Economist of the Year competition exemplify these traits. As the 2025 leg of the competition continues, the BMR and Unisa look forward to recognising another cohort of forecasting excellence in June 2026.