Rate My Professor Murray Leibbrandt

Professor Murray Leibbrandt is a professor in the School of Economics at the University of Cape Town, where he holds the UCT Research Chair in Poverty and Inequality Research within the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU). He earned a BA in Economics from Rhodes University in 1983, followed by an MA in 1986 and a PhD in 1993 from the University of Notre Dame. Leibbrandt previously served as Director of SALDRU from 2002 to July 2023, as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Poverty and Inequality at UCT, and as holder of the DSI/NRF National Research Chair in Poverty and Inequality Research from 2008 to 2022. He is currently Director of the African Centre of Excellence for Inequality Research (ACEIR) and has held visiting and fellowship positions including Visiting Professor at Yale University and Non-Resident Senior Research Fellow at UNU-WIDER. He is a fellow of the IZA Institute of Labor Economics, serves on the Council of the Academy of Science of South Africa, and has been a member of the Executive Committee of the International Economic Association.

Leibbrandt’s research focuses on development economics and labour economics, with particular emphasis on poverty, inequality, social mobility, and labour market dynamics in South Africa and across Africa, drawing on survey data and longitudinal studies such as the National Income Dynamics Study, of which he was a founding principal investigator. He has contributed to national policy advisory roles, including the Labour Market Commission under President Mandela, the National Minimum Wage Panel, the Expert Group on Basic Income Support, and the Ministerial Task Team on student funding. Leibbrandt has also served as President of the African Econometric Society and the Economic Society of South Africa.