Institute for Economic Justice

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) is a progressive economic policy think tank, launched in 2018 by a group of South African academics, activists and former government policy makers. The IEJ’s vision is an economy anchored by the values of equality and social justice. The institute was founded to respond to the following key challenges: The deficiencies in existing social and economic policies, and the ideas and research upon which they rest. These policies are unable to address the deep economic and social crises that manifest in extreme levels of poverty, inequality and unemployment and, subsequently, undermine democracy and democratic institutions. The lack of coherent, viable economic alternatives and the failure of progressive social forces to organise a social consensus around such interventions. The need to build capacity for policy-relevant economic research that responds to the concerns of labour, community activism, civil society, and progressive politics thus developing research and policy which directly contributes towards leveraging social change. The IEJ works at the nexus of research, policy and advocacy to achieve systemic change for people and planet.