Cognit Syscode Academy

policy design

Policy Trade-offs in Capital-Scarce Settings

6 weeks · 36 hours · Online with weekly live debates · Pan-African cases

Printed economic indicators pinned beside handwritten margin notes

We build small simulation sheets to compare interest burdens, sovereign spreads, and crowding-out effects. You will pair quantitative drills with narrative policy briefs so numbers never float without institutional context. Cases rotate between commodity-linked and service-heavy economies.

ZAR 980 · informational price · see Returns & Refunds

What is included

  • Spreadsheet templates with transparent assumptions (no black-box macros)
  • Guided readings on original sin, liability structures, and contingent liabilities
  • Mentor feedback on both quantitative and narrative submissions
  • Scenario swaps where you defend an opposing stance to strengthen debate skills
  • Office hours on data sourcing for emerging markets
  • Optional deep dive on local currency versus hard currency debt
  • Peer calibration sessions to align units and definitions

Outcomes

  1. Build a concise capital-account narrative tied to measurable indicators
  2. Identify when a policy looks feasible on paper but fails politically
  3. Communicate uncertainty bands without false precision
Portrait placeholder for Jonas van der Merwe

Lead mentor

Jonas van der Merwe

Former treasury advisor now teaching structured macro scenarios.

Participant notes

Policy Trade-offs in Capital-Scarce Settings made me pair every chart with a paragraph on who loses if the spread moves 150bps. That pairing was new for our team.
Priya N. · Civic research collective · 5/5 · Google

Questions

You need comfort with growth rates and ratios, not graduate econometrics.

Ask about this module · Back to catalog