A University of the Western Cape (UWC) student, Hayley Wakefield, has clinched the prestigious Economic Society of South Africa’s (ESSA) Founder’s Medal for the best Economics Master's thesis.
The purpose of the awards is to encourage research in the field of economics in South Africa and to recognise economic research of outstanding quality conducted at a South African university. All areas of economics are eligible.
According to the university, this is the second time that a UWC Department of Economics post-graduate student has won the ESSA Best Thesis Medal. A similar victory was celebrated five years ago when Tina Fransman won the medal in the same category.
Wakefield’s master's thesis examined transitory and chronic unemployment by analysing the data from the first five waves of the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) panel data. An accredited journal article was later published in the Development Southern Africa journal.
Wakefield, who started at UWC with undergraduate studies and honours, which she passed cum laude, said the award came as a surprise and was an emotional experience.
‘’It was a pleasant surprise to have received the medal and quite an emotional experience, too. The journey to completing my master’s came with ups and downs and many sacrifices. But it paid off, indeed! I have challenged myself a lot and learned even more. Looking back and thinking about the journey of writing my thesis, I cannot express how grateful I am for the experience,’’ said Wakefield.
She said the journey to completing her master’s came with ups and downs and many sacrifices.
‘’But it paid off. I have challenged myself a lot and learned even more. Looking back and thinking about the journey of writing my thesis, I cannot express how grateful I am for the experience,’’ said Wakefield.
She added, ‘’Furthermore, I am extremely appreciative and thankful for all of the guidance and support from Professor Derek Yu and Professor Christie Swanepoel. They assisted in steering my work and played an instrumental role in my success. I am immensely proud of myself, humbled, and undeniably thrilled with the achievement.’’
Her master’s thesis was supervised by Professors Derek Yu and Christie Swanepoel.
Yu said he always knew she had the potential to produce good work and that it is fantastic to see UWC students winning such a prestigious medal as they competed with submissions from other South African economics departments.
‘’I am proud of the hard work of Ms Wakefield and Prof Swanepoel. I also hope to see more students and supervisors winning the medal in the years ahead, not only at the master's level but also at the honours and doctorate levels,’’ said Yu.