South African Research Chair in Industrial Development

Welcome to the DSI/NRF South African Research Chair in Industrial Development

The DSI/NRF South African Research Chair in Industrial Development (SARChI-ID) is funded by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), and administered by the National Research Foundation (NRF). The Chair is hosted at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), where it operates as a centre located in the College of Business and Economics​ (CBE). Professor Fiona Tregenna is the Chair holder and leads the programme. She is also a Professor of Economics at UJ.

The DSI/NRF South African Research Chair in Industrial Development (SARChI-ID) is a university-based is a university-based research programme in the field of industrial development, including various aspects such as industrialisation, structural change, and innovation. SARChI-ID’s main activities are research and capacity building, especially the training of graduate students in the field of industrial development.

Examples of issues which our researchers and students are currently working on include: value chains in southern Africa; various aspects of industrialisation and deindustrialisation; structural change in Africa; innovation; testing Kaldor’s laws; the effects of trade liberalisation on distribution in South Africa; the relationship between manufacturing and inequality internationally; and determinants of the spatial location of South African manufacturing firms.