Dr. Darlington Mushongera attends a one-week ERSA course on Economic Growth and Development

GCRO Senior Researcher, Dr. Darlington Mushongera, recently attended the Economic Growth and Development course hosted by the University of Pretoria and organised by Economic Research Southern Africa (ERSA). The course provided rich theoretical and empirical insights into the structural drivers of development, with a strong focus on how governance, macroeconomic policy, and globalization influence development trajectories across different country contexts.

A major highlight of the training was the practical introduction to STATA; a statistical software package widely used in economic and policy research. Participants learned how to merge and analyse three global datasets central to development research:

• World Development Indicators (WDI) – providing economic and social development metrics.
• Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) – offering granular indicators of democratic governance; and
• KOF Globalization Index – measuring political, economic, and social dimensions of globalization.

As part of the course, participants were tasked with developing a research assignment that applied these datasets to a real-world issue. Dr. Mushongera used this opportunity to conceptualise a new article titled: "Explaining Variations in Development Outcomes in Central and Southern Africa." This study seeks to understand how economic performance, democratic governance, and globalization trends influence development outcomes in the region. Its objectives include:

• Summarising patterns and trends in development, democracy, and globalization indicators over time.
• Identifying the relationship between democratic governance, globalization, and development outcomes.
• Examining cross-country differences and similarities in development trajectories, and
• Exploring potential future development scenarios using historical trend data.

In addition to enhancing technical capacity, the course fostered valuable connections with fellow participants from Ghana, Mozambique, Malawi, and South Africa’s Eastern Cape—networks that may support future collaborative research.

Dr. Mushongera noted that the course has significantly sharpened his analytical skills and opened new pathways for research that align with GCRO’s strategic work, particularly within the Poverty, Inequality, and Social Mobility theme. Insights and methods from the course are expected to inform future GCRO projects, ensuring that its research remains both globally attuned and locally grounded.