Dr Miriam Altman is a Distinguished Research Fellow at the HSRC. She previously served as an Executive Director from 2002 to 2010, establishing and leading two divisions focused on the economy, employment creation and poverty reduction. Most recently, she led the Centre for Poverty, Employment and Growth, whose flagship was evidence-based employment scenarios, drawing together top decision and opinion makers in business, labour, government and academia to identify how the targets of halving unemployment and poverty might be reached.
In March 2010, she was appointed as a Commissioner to the National Planning Commission, located in the Office of the Presidency.
Dr Altman is a leading expert in employment and industrial policy, with over 20 years research and practical experience in economic development issues. Some notable examples include her coordination of the Presidential Jobs Summit in 1998 and her role as Convenor of Economic Development in the Greater Alexandra Urban Reconstruction & Renewal Programme, which is a multi-billion rand presidential project focused on upgrading Alexandra township and the surrounding industrial areas. She has provided leadership in developing innovative strategies to put employment centre stage in policy making and implementation. The policy research covers the macro-economy, trade and industry (with a special interest in services industries), infrastructure reform and administered pricing, government employment, youth employment, migration, labour markets, household food security and developmental social policy.
She has produced more than 100 publications. Over the past five years alone, she has been commissioning editor in her division at the HSRC of approximately 400 policy papers and publications, and was guest editor of four special edition journals. She has a BA in economics from McGill University, an M.Phil from the University of Cambridge and a PhD in economics from the University of Manchester. She previously lectured at the University of the Witwatersrand in the Department of Economics, and at the Graduate School of Public and Development Management.</> |
